Department for Transport

Motorcycles: Accidents

Paul Girvan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many motorcyclists were (a) injured and (b) killed on roads in 2017.

Jesse Norman: Figures for 2017 will be published later this year. Figures on motorcycling casualties in reported road accidents involving personal injury in Great Britain in 2016 can be found in table RAS30001 here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/665201/ras30001.ods

Electric Vehicles

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to encourage people to transition from conventionally fuelled to electric cars.

Jesse Norman: Government is taking new powers through the Automated and Electric Vehicles Bill to improve the provision of electric vehicle infrastructure. These proposals include powers to regulate technical standards of infrastructure to ensure easy compatibility with vehicles, to ensure availability of data on chargepoint locations and availability, and to require provision at motorway service areas and large fuel retailers.

Cycling and  Walking: Finance

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 May 2018 to Question 140051 on Cycling: Rural Areas, how much of the £1.2 billion of funding available for cycling and walking has been allocated.

Jesse Norman: The Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy includes a breakdown of the £1.2bn of funding that is available between 2016/17 to 2020/21. Many of the decisions on the allocation of these funds will be made by the relevant local body, in line with the Government’s devolution and localism agenda.

Railways: Plumpton

Maria Caulfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of trains that were supposed to stop at Plumpton but did not do so between 1 January and May 1 2018.

Joseph Johnson: The Department for Transport does not keep information on the details of number of ‘station skipping’ incidents on the Southern network.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost of (a) fees, (b) facilitation costs and (c) enabling works for High Speed 2 in each year since 2010.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Total expenditure on HS2 in the period from 2009-10 to 2016-17 was £2.3bn. This consists of expenditure by both HS2 Ltd on delivering the programme and by the Department for Transport on land and property. Enabling works are authorised under The High Speed Rail (Preparation) Act 2013. This allows for expenditure to be incurred in preparation for High Speed Two. The total expenditure for enabling works is £134.5m.

Taxis: Insurance

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will take steps to help taxi drivers who have been affected by the bankruptcy of Alpha Insurance to seek (a) reimbursement and (b) alternative insurance providers.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The taxi and private hire vehicle drivers affected are likely to be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) and, as Alpha Insurance was based in Denmark, some may also be protected under the Danish insurance guarantee scheme. The FSCS are working with the Danish parties to put in place the appropriate arrangements for claims to be handled. We are aware that a number of brokers are working with affected policyholders to arrange alternative cover. All drivers must make sure that they have appropriate insurance in place before driving their vehicle.

British Transport Police: Police Scotland

Luke Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to prepare for the merger of the Scottish Division of British Transport Police with Police Scotland.

Joseph Johnson: The two Governments have established an official level Joint Programme Board (JPB) to oversee arrangements for delivering the transfer of the British Transport Police’s functions in Scotland. Membership of the Board includes representatives from both Governments, the two Police Authorities and the two Police Forces. The UK Government’s ambition is to see a smooth transition to the new arrangements for policing the railways, with the focus on ensuring the continued effective policing of the railways once responsibilities are split between the British Transport Police and Police Scotland, including appropriate coordination arrangements. Whilst significant progress has been made on a number of aspects of integration, including preparing the secondary legislation which will transfer those BTP officers and staff currently responsible for policing the railways in Scotland to Police Scotland, a number of significant operational issues remain to be resolved. For this reason the Scottish Government announced in February that the planned 1 April 2019 transfer date would not be achieved. A detailed re-planning exercise is now underway to ensure robust delivery plans are in place for all of the key elements of the programme and to establish a new delivery date.

Lakes Railway Line: Cumbria

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has determined whether Northern rail have breached the terms of their contract for the Lakes line in Cumbria.

Joseph Johnson: This is currently being assessed by officials as there are a number of service recovery and force majeure claims being processed which may or may not have an impact on the whether the Train Operator has breached the terms of the franchise agreement.

Railways: Trees

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many train journeys have been delayed because of fallen trees or leaves on the line by train operating company in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Joseph Johnson: Britain has the safest railway in Europe and proactive vegetation management has reduced the number of incidents of large trees falling on the railway by 50% over the last four years. However, last year there were more than 1,200 times when trees or large branches caused disruption to the railway network. Network Rail recorded a total of 41,144 delay minutes as a result of fallen / encroaching vegetation in 2017/18. A breakdown of these minutes by Train Operating Company can be seen below. Operator - AffectedGrand TotalTPE1266Greater Anglia585Grand Central8Northern5213GWR2181Cross Country1311West Midlands Trains979London Overground709EMT1037Caledonian Sleeper1202GTW4246TfL Rail10ScotRail1489Virgin Trains East Coast56Merseyrail241Virgin Trains West Coast2238Arriva Trains Wales1339Heathrow Express25Chiltern807c2c79Southeastern3033South Western Railway13090Hull Trains0Grand Total41144  Network Rail recorded a total of 195,400 delay minutes caused by leaves impacting the performance of trains and the wider network in 2017/18. A breakdown of these minutes by Train Operating Company can be seen below. Operator - AffectedGrand TotalTPE5152.5Greater Anglia6178Grand Central284Northern32277GWR27680Cross Country9716West Midlands Trains10524London Overground2270EMT5810Caledonian Sleeper328GTW20101TfL Rail1258ScotRail10999Virgin Trains East Coast2284Merseyrail1643Virgin Trains West Coast2919Arriva Trains Wales5731Heathrow Express653Chiltern4986c2c61Southeastern16815South Western Railway27649Hull Trains79Grand Total195399

Train Operating Companies: Franchises

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the level of compliance of franchised train operating companies with the terms of their franchise agreements.

Joseph Johnson: Post-signature contract management is at the core of the Department for Transport’s rail franchising operational management. A dedicated contract and commercial management function is employed to monitor and ensure train operating companies deliver their contractual obligations, in relation to the delivery of services, passenger benefits, and ongoing reporting and management requirements. In addition there is an independent Enforcement Advisory Panel, to which all contraventions of franchise agreements are reported and responded to in a proportionate manner.

High Speed 2 Railway Line: Manchester Airport

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the funding that will be allocated by Greater Manchester Combined Authority to the High Speed 2 railway station at Manchester Airport.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Manchester Airports Group and other local partners made the case for a station at the Airport, with an offer of local funding to pay for its construction. The Government continues to work collaboratively with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Manchester Airports Group on the details of reaching an agreement on a locally led funding package for the High Speed 2 station at Manchester Airport.

Community Transport

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment the Department has made of the number of people who are reliant on not-for-profit community transport.

Jesse Norman: The Department does not record information about the number of passengers served by community transport operators.

Motor Vehicles: Sales

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of ending the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles in 2030 as opposed to 2040 in order to meet the Government's commitments under the Paris Agreement.

Jesse Norman: The Government’s ambition is for almost every car and van to be zero emission by 2050. In order to achieve this, we have said we will end the sale of new conventional petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2040. This level of ambition will help ensure we deliver our air quality and greenhouse gas reduction ambitions, including our commitment to the Paris Agreement. It will also put the UK at the forefront of the global transition to cleaner road transport and help ensure our automotive sector continues to thrive and create good jobs across the country.We are due to publish the Road to Zero strategy shortly which will set out further detail on the Government’s ambition and plans for the transition to zero emission road transport. This will draw on a wide range of evidence including the work of the Committee on Climate Change (CCC).We expect the transition to zero emission vehicles to be industry and consumer-led, with Government monitoring developments closely. Against a rapidly evolving international context, we will seek to maintain ambitious targets and our leadership position, intervening firmly if not enough progress is being made.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Care Homes

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to groups (a) 871, (b) 872, (c) 873 and (d) 874, Division 87 (Residential Care Activities), (e) 881, Division 88 (Social Work Activities Without Accommodation), Section Q, Table A1c of the Insolvency Service dataset Insolvency statistics January to March 2018 industry breakdown, published on 27 April 2018, what this date is by NUTS 1 region.

Andrew Griffiths: The Insolvency Service does not hold data at this level of geography.

Hitachi

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether financial support has been offered to Hitachi Ltd to build nuclear reactors in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Harrington: The Government remains committed to decarbonising our economy and last September we published our Clean Growth Strategy which set out a range of actions Government is taking. New nuclear has a crucial role to play as we seek to transition to a low carbon society. The Government regularly engages with developers in the UK including Hitachi regarding the construction of a new nuclear power station. These commercial discussions are ongoing and no final decisions have been made. These discussions are commercially sensitive.

Construction: Industry

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support economic growth in the construction industry.

Richard Harrington: The wider construction sector, including products manufacturing and associated professional services, had a turnover of £370 billion, generating 9% of UK Gross Value Added. It also accounts for around 9% of all employment in the UK. To improve productivity and support growth in the sector, the Government will invest £170m from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund in the Transforming Construction programme, which will be matched by significant industry funding. Two competitions were launched in March, to create an integrated innovation hub to develop and commercialise digital and manufacturing technologies for the construction sector, and to create an active building centre that will develop new energy generation and storage technologies for use in buildings. These competitions will conclude in June. The Transforming Construction programme will also support a range of other R&D and demonstration projects. In addition, Government has published the National Infrastructure & Construction Pipeline, setting out planned investments in infrastructure and construction over the next ten years, to provide the industry with certainty about levels of investment, and to encourage it to invest in skills and new technologies to meet this. Further support for the modernisation of the industry will be provided by the presumption of offsite from 2019 adopted by 5 Government Departments. The Government and the construction sector are also working to develop a Sector Deal for construction, which will also support this objective. We aim to publish the Sector Deal this year.

Regional Planning and Development: North of England

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many applications for funding through the Northern Powerhouse have been (a) received and (b) successfully awarded by local authority district in each month since January 2015.

Andrew Griffiths: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Life Sciences: Skilled Workers

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department plans to make a comprehensive assessment of the adequacy of the life sciences skills base for the purposes of identifying and planning for potential gaps in that base as the UK prepares to leave the EU.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Government committed through the Life Sciences Sector Deal to working with the sector to reinforce the skills base across the UK and enable highly-skilled immigration, and the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department for Education are working closely on this agenda. This also includes collaboration with industry bodies such as the Science Industry Partnership which brings members together to identify and address the skills challenges the sector faces.

Clinical Trials and Research

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made an economic assessment of the (a) value of early-phase research and (b) inward investment generated by early-phase trials.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Industrial Strategy White Paper sets out the central role of science and innovation in meeting the UK’s productivity challenge. The UK economy gets a high rate of return for our investment in Science – 20% per annum in perpetuity. The UK research base is highly productive in terms of article and citation outputs per researcher and per pound spend on R&D. With only 0.9% of the global population, 4.1% of researchers, the UK accounts for 6.3% of research articles, 10.7% of citations and 15.2% of the most highly-cited research articles. The UK draws in proportionally more internationally mobile investment in Research & Development than other large countries. For further information: http://oecd.org/sti/msti

Research

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department plans to take to (a) protect and (b) promote early phase research in the UK after the UK leaves the EU.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Government wants the UK to be the go-to place for researchers, innovators and investors across the world, and we intend to secure the right outcome for UK research and innovation as we exit the European Union.The UK and the EU fully intend UK entities’ eligibility in Horizon 2020 to remain unchanged for the duration of the programme, as set out in the Joint Report[1] and reflected in the text of the draft Withdrawal Agreement[2]. This includes eligibility to participate in all Horizon 2020 projects and to receive Horizon 2020 funding for the lifetime of projects. Independently of these agreements, the Government’s underwrite guarantee of Horizon 2020 funding remains in place. Through the underwrite guarantee, the Government has committed to ensuring all successful UK Horizon 2020 bids submitted before exit are funded for the duration of the project, including those bids who are only informed of their success or sign agreements after the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. Our future partnership paper, Collaboration on Science and Innovation[3] sets out the UK’s desire to conclude a far-reaching science and innovation pact’ with the EU. As the Prime Minister set out on Monday 21 May, we would like the option to fully associate ourselves with the excellence-based European science and innovation programmes including the successor to Horizon 2020.In order to promote research in the UK, we are investing an additional £7 billion in R&D funding over five years to 2022. This is the biggest increase in public R&D funding for over 40 years and as part of the Industrial Strategy[4] the Government made clear our ambition to increase R&D investment to 2.4% of GDP by 2027. [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/joint-report-on-progress-during-phase-1-of-negotiations-under-article-50-teu-on-the-uks-orderly-withdrawal-from-the-eu[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/draft-withdrawal-agreement-19-march-2018[3] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/collaboration-on-science-and-innovation-a-future-partnership-paper[4] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/industrial-strategy-building-a-britain-fit-for-the-future

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Sudan: Detainees

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) people and (b) women detained without charge in (i) Darfur and (ii) Sudan.

Harriett Baldwin: ​The Government of Sudan does not release statistics on the number of detainees from each state held in its prisons. We continue to urge the Government of Sudan to guarantee the constitutional and human rights of its citizens, including the right to freedom of expression, to political participation, and to due process in the judicial system.

Sudan: Politics and Government

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for UK policy of the recent attacks by the Government of Sudan in the Jebel Marra region of Darfur.

Harriett Baldwin: We are aware of reports of fighting in the Jebel Marra region of Darfur between Government of Sudan troops and armed groups. Information is difficult to verify due to Government restrictions on access to the region. We are urging the Government of Sudan to ensure unfettered access for UNAMID, UN agencies and NGOs in order to corroborate reports and make an assessment of the scale and nature of fighting and its impact on civilians.We will continue to monitor developments closely and raise our concerns about the violence and its impact with the Sudanese authorities. The British Ambassador raised our concerns with the President of Sudan during the formal presentation of his credentials on 14 May. Our Ambassador reiterated the importance of the unilateral cessations of hostilities, and urged all sides to abide by their pledges so that negotiations may resume in an environment that is conducive to peace.

Omar Shakir

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Israeli counterpart on the revocation of the Director of Human Rights Watch Israel and Palestine, Omar Shakir’s work permit.

Alistair Burt: It is for the Government of Israel to decide its immigration policy. The UK’s immigration policies and controls are similarly protected.

Bangladesh: Elections

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Bangladesh Government to ensure the fair and equal treatment of political parties in that country's forthcoming elections.

Mark Field: ​The Foreign Secretary met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister Ali during his visit to Bangladesh from 9 to 10 February. In both meetings he stressed the importance of free, fair elections and affording political space to the opposition. I did the same when I met Foreign Minister Ali on 19 April in the margins of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018. The UK has consistently called on the Government of Bangladesh and opposition parties to engage in an effective dialogue to lay the groundwork for a free, fair and participatory general election. High Commission officials based in Dhaka regularly convey these messages to the Government of Bangladesh and opposition parties alike.

Bangladesh: Politics and Government

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made representations to his Bangladeshi counterpart on the imprisonment of the leader of the main opposition party in that country.

Mark Field: While it would not be appropriate for the UK to interfere in the judicial processes of another country, I remain concerned by the imprisonment of Khaleda Zia, the main opposition leader in Bangladesh. It impedes an effective dialogue between the main parties and could increase the risk of violence around the election and have a negative impact on participation. The Foreign Secretary met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister Ali during his visit to Bangladesh from 9 to 10 February. He stressed the importance of free and fair elections and affording political space to the opposition. I did the same when I met Foreign Minister Ali on 19 April in the margins of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018.

Bangladesh: Elections

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the assessment he has made of the potential effect of discussions at the April 2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London on the forthcoming elections in Bangladesh.

Mark Field: ​The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting was an excellent opportunity for Commonwealth countries to reaffirm their commitment to shared values including human rights, democracy, and freedom of expression. Bangladesh played an active and important role in the meeting. It also afforded the opportunity for bilateral meetings to take place, and I stressed the importance of free, fair and pluralistic elections when I met Foreign Minister Ali on 19 April.

Hong Kong: Railways

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of the proposed  Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link Bill on (a) British citizens residing in Hong Kong, (b) Hong Kong civil society and (c) the principle of one country two systems.

Mark Field: ​The economic case for the High Speed Rail Link is clear. However, we believe it is important that the final arrangements for a joint border checkpoint on the territory of the Special Administrative Region are consistent with the principles of 'One Country, Two Systems' and with Hong Kong's Basic Law. We will continue to monitor developments closely and to discuss arrangements for consular assistance at the high speed rail terminal with the Hong Kong authorities as the legislative process progresses.

Sudan: Armed Forces

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Sudan economic factsheet published by his Department on 26 April 2018, what proportion of the budget of the Government of Sudan has been allocated to the military in each of the last three years.

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Sudan economic factsheet published by his Department on 26 April 2018, what estimate he has made of the level of military spending in Sudan.

Harriett Baldwin: There is no reliable data as the Government of Sudan does not release information on its Defence expenditure. In 2009, the World Bank estimated that more than 60 percent of Sudan's national budget was spent on Security and Defence. In the absence of reliable information from the Government of Sudan, our assumption is that such spending constitutes between 60 and 70 percent of Sudan's national budget.

Noura Hussein

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has made representations to Sudanese Government on the death sentence of Noura Hussein.

Harriett Baldwin: ​The UK Ambassador to Sudan most recently raised our concerns about Noura Hussein's case with senior members of the Government of Sudan on 15 May. On the same day, we released a statement alongside other EU Heads of Mission to make clear our firm opposition to the use of the death penalty under any circumstances, and recalling the principle of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that marriage should be entered into only with the free and full consent of spouses. We will continue to raise the case at a high level with the Government of Sudan.

South Sudan: Peace Negotiations

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Government raised during the latest round of the UK-Sudan Strategic Dialogue in Khartoum the attack of 22 April 2018 made by the Government of Sudan in the Jebel Marra region in Darfur.

Harriett Baldwin: The reports emerged after the UK-Sudan Strategic Dialogue. We raised our concerns with the Government of Sudan on 9 May. We reiterated the UK's and the international community's expectation that unilateral cessations of hostilities must be observed by both sides. While presenting his credentials to the President of Sudan on 14 May, our Ambassador took the opportunity to repeat the importance of observing the unilateral ceasefire. The UK Defence Attaché raised the issue with the Sudanese Armed Forces on the same date.A communique from the Fifth Round is available on the British Government's website.

Bridget Agbahime

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will raise with the Government of Nigeria the case of Bridget Agbahime who was murdered by on 2 June 2016 to seek to ensure the perpetrators are prosecuted.

Harriett Baldwin: ​Nigeria is a secular, multi-ethnic and multi-religious country. We are concerned by the issue of blasphemy killings, such as that of Bridget Agbahime. Although the British Government cannot interfere in the judicial process of another country we strongly believe that those responsible for such crimes should be brought to justice.We continue to support Nigerian authorities' efforts to strengthen their criminal justice system and ensure accountability in Nigeria.

Embassies: Sales

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many British Embassy sites the Government has sold since 2009.

Alistair Burt: ​In the financial years from 2009-10 to 2017-18, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has sold 17 former compounds or offices.

Malaysia: Politics and Government

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions the Government has had with the new Malaysian Prime Minister.

Mark Field: ​My Right Honourable Friend the Prime Minister wrote to the new Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad on 11 May to offer her warmest congratulations on his election and her commitment to work with him on many important bilateral issues. This was a historic result for Malaysian democracy. The British High Commissioner in Malaysia, met with the Prime Minister and offered her congratulations on behalf of Her Majesty's Government. I conveyed my own congratulations via social media. We look forward to working with PM Mahathir and his new Administration on the UK and Malaysia's many shared priorities.

Embassies: Sales

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much has accrued to the public purse from the sale of British Embassy premises since 2010.

Alistair Burt: ​In the financial years from 2009-10 to 2017-18, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has received net sale proceeds amounting to £508.876 million. This includes £425 million received for the sale of the former compound in Bangkok in financial year 2017-18.

Taiwan: World Health Assembly

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the World Health Organisation on Taiwan’s non-participation in the World Health Assembly later this month.

Mark Field: Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have made a number of representations, with likeminded partners, to the World Health Organisation to facilitate Taiwan being an observer at this year's World Health Assembly. The British Government will continue to support Taiwan's participation at the WHA.

Taiwan: World Health Assembly

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Director-General of the World Health Organisation on facilitating Taiwan being an observer at the 2018 World Health Assembly.

Mark Field: Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have made a number of representations, with likeminded partners, to the World Health Organisation to facilitate Taiwan being an observer at this year's World Health Assembly. The British Government will continue to support Taiwan's participation at the WHA.

Libya: Democracy

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to help restore democracy to Libya.

Alistair Burt: The UK fully supports the UN-led political process in Libya and the efforts of the UN Special Representatives Ghassan Salamé to bring Libyans together to make political progress. I visited Libya on 8 – 9 April and met representatives and a number of senior politicians, including from the Libyan Government of National Accord; I emphasised the need for all parties to engage fully in the UN-led process and to be willing to compromise for the national interest. Mr Salamé’s political roadmap aims to build consensus on the need to move towards elections; we agree that elections are an important part of Libya’s political transition, although they must be preceded by necessary political, legislative and security preparations to be a success. We shall continue to work with Libyans and the international community in order to make progress towards political agreement and the establishment of a more united and effective Government in Libya.

Bahrain: Capital Punishment

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Bahraini counterpart on the continued use of the death penalty in that country.

Alistair Burt: ​I refer the hon Gentleman to the answer given to question 139942 on 10 May 2018. The UK has a continuing dialogue with the Government of Bahrain on a range of issues. The UK is firmly opposed to the death penalty. It is the Government's longstanding position to oppose capital sentences in all circumstances and countries. We continue to make this clear to the Government of Bahrain. The UK welcomes the decision of His Majesty King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa on 26 April to commute four death sentences.

Bangladesh: Elections

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, in response to the Answer of 14 May 2018 to Question 141018 on Bangladesh: Politics and Government, what representations his Department has made to the Government of Bangladesh oh ensuring protections are put in place for voter safety during the upcoming election to encourage participation.

Mark Field: The Election Commission in Bangladesh has an essential role in ensuring the proper conduct of the next general election including provision for voter safety. The UK has consistently called on the Government of Bangladesh and opposition parties to ensure that the Election Commission can carry out its important work free from political interference, and to ensure a non-violent election. We will continue to engage on the need for robust democratic mechanisms and the proper application of election law during the next general election.

Nigeria: Ethnic Cleansing

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the government of Nigeria on reports of the armed forces' participation in acts of ethnic cleansing in the riverine states of that country undertaken by the Fulani militia.

Harriett Baldwin: ​We have seen no evidence of collusion by the Nigerian Armed Forces in inter-communal violence between settled farming communities and Fulani pastoralists. It is essential that all action taken by the Nigerian Armed Forces and security services is in accordance with International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. We welcome President Buhari's commitment to prioritise ending the violence, and echo his calls for calm and reconciliation between the many ethnic groups and communities that make up and contribute to the strength and diversity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Baltic States: Defence

Andrew Bowie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussion he has had with his Swedish counterpart on future defence and security cooperation in the Baltic region.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​The Foreign Secretary engages regularly with his Swedish counterpart on a range of issues, including defence and security cooperation. For example, Foreign Minister Wallström attended a meeting that the Foreign Secretary held with his Nordic and Baltic counterparts on 4 September 2017, which included discussions on defence and security.

Sweden: NATO

Andrew Bowie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to encourage closer cooperation between Sweden and NATO; and whether he has held discussions with his Swedish counterpart on that county's potential membership of NATO.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​The Foreign Secretary regularly discusses common security issues with his Swedish counterpart. The UK fully supports Sweden's participation with NATO as an Enhanced Opportunities Partner, and cooperates with Sweden on a range of activities. For example, Sweden has contributed to NATO's Resolute Support Mission, to the NATO Response Force, and taken part in NATO's 2017 Crisis Management Exercise. However, any application for NATO membership must be a taken by Sweden alone, and the Government respects this position.

Palestinians: Demonstrations

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what is Department's policy is on the instigation of a UN-led investigation into the recent deaths of Palestinian protesters.

Alistair Burt: As our Ambassador to the UN said at the UN Security Council emergency meeting on 15 May, we "want to reiterate our support for independent and transparent investigations into the events that have taken place in Gaza on 14 May and in recent weeks". This includes the extent to which the Israeli security forces' rules of engagement are in line with international law and what role Hamas played in events. The UK will judge any proposal for an investigation on its merits.

Israel: Palestinians

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with (a) his Israeli counterpart and (b) his Palestinian counterpart on the recent violence in Gaza.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign Secretary discussed the use of live ammunition against protestors in Gaza with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Abbas on 16 May. I have also raised concerns regarding this issue with my Israeli counterpart on 13 May and with the Israeli ambassador to the UK on 17 May. As I said in my statement of 14 May, we continue to implore Israel to show greater restraint in its use of live fire.

Israel: Palestinians

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on that country's commitment to the Oslo Peace accords.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign Secretary spoke to President Abbas and Prime Minister Netanyahu on 16 May and reiterated the need for progress towards peace. We urge Israel and the Palestinian Authority to work together to meet their obligations under the Oslo Accords. We also call on all parties to abide by International Humanitarian Law and to promote peace, stability and security.

Israel: Palestinians

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information the Government holds on whether Hamas has encouraged Palestinian protesters to use violence against Israeli military forces along the border of Gaza.

Alistair Burt: Hamas have acknowledged that 50 of those killed during protests in Gaza on Monday were their operatives. Hamas leaders have also called for violence against Israelis. While many protests have been peaceful, there has been reporting of some protestors using violent methods during the protests, and there have been multiple attempts to place Improvised Explosive Devices at the Gaza border. The UK supports the fundamental right of Palestinians to peaceful protests, but it is clear that extremist elements have been exploiting these protests for their own ends; Israel has the right to protect itself against Hamas and other militant groups.

Iran: Capital Punishment

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the Government has received from Amnesty International and other NGOs on reports of actions taken by the Iranian authorities to destroy the mass graves of people who were massacred in 1998.

Alistair Burt: ​We have received various reports from NGOs relating to the destruction of mass graves, including Amnesty's latest report on the subject "Criminal cover-up: Iran destroying mass graves of victims of 1988 killings". We continue to take action with the international community to press for improvements on all human rights issues in Iran. When a new UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in Iran is appointed, we will be calling on Iran to grant them access to the country so they can investigate human rights concerns reported there.

Gaza: Armed Conflict

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure an independent inquiry into recent civilian deaths on the Gaza border.

Alistair Burt: ​​As our Ambassador to the UN said at the UN Security Council emergency meeting on 15 May, we "want to reiterate our support for independent and transparent investigations into the events that have taken place in Gaza on 14 May and in recent weeks". This includes the extent to which the Israeli security forces' rules of engagement are in line with international law and what role Hamas played in events. The UK will judge any proposal for an investigation on its merits.

Syria: Armed Conflict

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of allegations that the Kurdish population in Northern Syria are being displaced from their homes by forces loyal to the Turkish Government.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​We are aware of reports of the displacement of over 130,000 civilians, both Kurds and other groups, from areas in Afrin following the Turkish military operation. It is essential that the rights of internally displaced persons are protected, including the protection of property, and that those who wish to return are able to do so freely and safely. We continue to make this point clearly in our close dialogue with Turkey about Syria. Turkey has assured us of its commitment to respect international law in its operations.

Chile: Diplomatic Service

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Chilean counterpart on Martin Pickett, a constituent of the Rt hon Member for Sevenoaks, to help him re-establish contact with his children who are living in Chile.

Sir Alan Duncan: We have advised Mr Pickett that we cannot interfere in the Chilean judicial process and have encouraged him to seek the advice of a local lawyer on what other legal recourse may be open to him to re-establish contact with his children.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Paternity Leave

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many male staff of his Department have taken shared parental leave; and what the average length of that leave was.

Sir Alan Duncan: Since the legislation was introduced on 5 April 2015, 29 male UK Based staff members have taken shared parental leave. The average length of leave was 11 weeks.

Israel: Palestinians

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will seek urgently the establishment of a UN-led investigation in to the recent actions of the Israeli Government towards protesters in Palestine.

Alistair Burt: As our Ambassador to the UN said at the UN Security Council emergency meeting on 15 May, we "want to reiterate our support for independent and transparent investigations into the events that have taken place in Gaza on 14 May and in recent weeks". This includes the extent to which the Israeli security forces' rules of engagement are in line with international law and what role Hamas played in events. The UK will judge any proposal for an investigation on its merits.

Boris Johnson

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his oral contribution of 15 May 2018, Official Report, column 116, if he will place in the Library a copy of the transcript of his appearance on the US TV programme Fox and Friends on 7 May 2018.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​I am placing a copy of the transcript in the Library of the House of Commons.

Foreign Relations

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how his Department ensures diplomatic reciprocity in its relations with other states.

Sir Alan Duncan: The FCO constructs its representation in any country as deemed appropriate to advance British interests with resources available. Any country's reciprocal representation in the UK is a matter for them.

Israel: Arms Trade

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what role his Department plans to play in reviewing UK arms exports to Israel as a result of the events in Gaza of 14 May 2018.

Alistair Burt: ​We assess all applications very carefully against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria and human rights and international humanitarian law considerations are important parts of that assessment. We have no information to suggest that UK supplied equipment has been used in contravention of the Criteria. We continue to keep the situation under constant review.

Israel: Palestinians

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the recent violence at the Palestinian border.

Alistair Burt: The Cabinet discussed the Gaza events, on the basis of a briefing by the Foreign Secretary on 15 May.

Israel: Palestinians

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Government condemned the violence used by Israeli forces on protesters at the Gaza-Israel border at the recent UN Security Council meeting.

Alistair Burt: At the UN Security Council Meeting in question, the UK Permanent Representative urged Israel to ensure that its security forces did not resort to the use of excessive force, and noted the urgent need to establish why such a volume of live fire continued to be deemed justified.

Saudi Arabia: Human Rights

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions has he had with his Saudi Arabian counterpart on respect for human rights in that country.

Alistair Burt: I last raised this range of issues with the Saudi authorities in February. The Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary did likewise during a visit of the Crown Prince to the UK in March. We also raise our concerns about human rights with the Saudi authorities through our Ambassador and Embassy staff.

Israel: Arms Trade

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if will make it his policy to suspend all UK arms export licenses to Israel in the light of ongoing investigations into human rights violations by that country.

Alistair Burt: We are keeping the situation under constant review. My department will advise the Department for International Trade if extant licences are found to be no longer consistent with the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, so that those licences can be revoked. We have no information to suggest that UK supplied equipment has been used in contravention of the Criteria.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Department for Exiting the European Union: Parental Leave

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many male staff of his Department have taken shared parental leave; and what the average length of that leave was.

Mr Steve Baker: The Department for Exiting the European Union is committed to providing family friendly employment policies to its staff. Shared parental leave provides real flexibility to parents in how they care for their child in their first year. The Civil Service goes beyond the statutory minimum provision and offers an occupational rate of pay for some of this leave. Fewer than 5 individuals have taken shared parental leave in DExEU the last year and therefore the Department is not in a position to release this information as individuals may be identifiable.

Department of Health and Social Care

Sleep: Babies and Children

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to review national guidance on the importance of sleep to babies and children to include (a) good sleep hygiene, (b) consistent bedtimes, (c) safe infant sleeping, (d) screen-based usage for parents; and provide initial training and CPD for Health Visitors and Early Years teachers.

Jackie Doyle-Price: We do not have plans to review the evidence on sleep interventions. There is no national guidance on evidence-based recommended sleep duration for children because of the significant variation between children. The focus of the advice for parents is therefore on good bedtime routines and how to prevent and respond to common sleep problems. However, this Government recognises the importance of healthy sleep patterns to aid children’s development. Health visitors, as part of the Healthy Child Programme, have contact with families during pregnancy and in the early days and weeks after birth. They provide advice on a range of issues to support the transition to parenthood. This will include a discussion of protective factors for babies’ safety such as safe sleeping, temperature control and infant feeding; their work has a strong focus on healthy sleep practices, bath, book, bed routines and activities. Health visitors signpost parents to trusted sources of further information such as those produced by the Lullaby Trust. The NHS’ Start4Life Information Service for Parents provides information via email on keeping babies safe and provides guidance on preventing Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), with links to further information online at: https://www.nhs.uk/start4life The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published a guideline on postnatal care up to eight weeks after birth, which includes recommendations on co-sleeping. NICE is currently updating this, and currently expects to publish final guidance in January 2020. The guideline is available at the following link: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg37/chapter/1-recommendations#maintaining-infant-health – Section 1.4.47 is for health professionals; a section for parents is at: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg37/ifp/chapter/safety The NHS Choices website provides guidance for parents on the amounts of sleep for children at different ages as well as advice and support for parents and children about sleep hygiene. It also provides factsheets on minimising the risk of SIDS. These are available at the following links: https://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Childrenssleep/Pages/childrenssleephome.aspx http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/sudden-infant-death-syndrome/pages/introduction.aspx http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/reducing-risk-cot-death.aspx We are looking at the impact of screen time on a child’s cognitive development and we recognise that even parents who consider themselves digitally savvy can struggle with managing their children’s screen time as they grow older. A report led by the Chief Medical Officer has been commissioned, which will look at the impact of social media on children’s mental health. It will align with the Internet Safety Strategy published by the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in October last year, which outlined plans for a social media code of practice. Public Health England has also developed specific advice resources on sleep issues for children and young people with the Royal College of Psychiatrists in the MindEd programme – this is a free educational resource on children and young people's mental health for all adults. It includes an interactive slide-pack on sleep difficulties (including for disabled children) available at the following link: https://www.minded.org.uk/Component/Details/445706

Breast Cancer: Screening

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that all women (a) aged up to 72, and (b) who missed their final screening appointment will be able to access mammogram services within six months.

Steve Brine: Any extra capacity being provided in response to this incident is being delivered in addition to existing capacity. The screening service for women aged 50-70 will continue to be delivered in the usual way. All women affected who wish to have a breast screen will receive an appointment to take place before the end of October 2018.

Prisons: Health Services

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, by what methods a prisoner who is either serving a sentence or on remand in a private sector jail in (a) England and (b) Wales can complain about their health treatment.

Jackie Doyle-Price: There are 13 private sector prisons in England and one in Wales. Complaints about healthcare in all prisons, including private sector prisons, should first be made to the healthcare provider. In England if a prisoner is not satisfied with the response, complaints can be made to the commissioner of healthcare services through the NHS Complaints Procedure. If a prisoner is still not satisfied they may escalate their complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman. At HMP Parc in Wales, the process is firstly to approach the provider, and if the prisoner is not satisfied with the response, to contact the prison’s Director of Strategic Support who will commission Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board to undertake an independent review of the case.

Pregnancy: Mental Illness

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of women in the UK have had a mental illness during pregnancy in each of the last 5 years.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Up to 20% of women are affected by mental illness during pregnancy or within the first year after giving birth. This covers a wide range of conditions. Further information can be found at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/mental-health/perinatal/ This Government is committed to improving perinatal mental health services for women during pregnancy and in the first postnatal year, so that women are able to access the right care at the right time and close to home.

Mental Illness: Older People

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions his Department has had and with whom on connections between old age depression and memory loss.

Caroline Dinenage: Neither I nor my officials have had any recent discussions on the connection between depression and memory loss.

Shingles

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have been diagnosed with shingles in each of the last five years.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people diagnosed with shingles have developed eyesight problems in each of the last five years.

Steve Brine: Data on the number of people diagnosed with shingles, and those who have developed eyesight problems are not held in the format requested.

Medical Treatments

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to shorten the approval process time for treatments that are not selected for the accelerated access pathway.

Steve Brine: The Life Sciences Industrial Strategy set out our vision of being a world-leader in developing and bringing to market innovative medicines to improve patient outcomes. It highlighted the importance of evolving and simplifying the access system for new medicines by implementing, and building on, the findings of the Accelerated Access Review. The response to the Accelerated Access Review, published last year, set out a series of actions the Government and the National Health Service are taking to increase the rate of uptake of innovative products. We have brought together the key Government, NHS and industry partners together through the newly formed Accelerated Access Collaborative, who will oversee the Accelerated Access Pathway, to streamline regulatory and market access decisions, getting breakthrough products that we believe will be truly transformative to patients more quickly. The response also committed to £86 million of support, including £39 million to improve local adoption and uptake of innovative medical technologies through a greater role for the Academic Health and Science Networks and £6 million to help the NHS to adopt and integrate new technologies into everyday practice, through the Pathway Transformation Fund. These build on our existing schemes to encourage quicker patient access such as the Early Access to Medicines Scheme and the Innovation Technology Tariff. Additionally, the Innovation Scorecard tracks the uptake of cost-effective new medicines approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

Drugs: Innovation

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to make an assessment of the effectiveness of the accelerated access pathway to enable access to new, innovative medicines.

Steve Brine: As set out in the response to the Accelerated Access Review, published last year, the Accelerated Access Pathway is being developed and overseen by the newly formed Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC) which brings together key leaders from the Government, the National Health Service, patient groups, and industry. The AAC will assess and review the effectiveness of the pathway, and provide an evaluation of its impact as part of regular reports to Ministers at the Department.

Continuing Care

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether (a) his Department and (b) NHS England plans to undertake a review of the outcomes of decision support tool assessments to ensure that eligibility decisions made are lawful and in line with the provisions of the Care Act 2014 and the Coughlan and Grogan court judgments.

Caroline Dinenage: NHS Continuing Healthcare eligibility decisions are taken following the completion of the NHS Continuing Healthcare Decision Support Tool by a multidisciplinary team, in accordance with the National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care. NHS England has assurance mechanisms in place to understand clinical commissioning group compliance with the National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care. NHS Continuing Healthcare has been part of NHS England’s mainstream assurance processes since 2016/17 and is included in the Clinical Commissioning Group Improvement and Assessment Framework.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Alex Chalk: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to stimulate and facilitate high-quality research into chronic fatigue syndrome.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) recognises that chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), is a debilitating condition. The NIHR is speaking with the United Kingdom’s CFS/ME Research Collaborative and patient representatives about how best we can support a joined up approach to high quality research into this complex disorder. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including CFS/ME; it is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.

Obesity: Children and Young People

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to provide for the treatment of children and young people who are already (a) overweight, (b) obese and (c) severely obese.

Steve Brine: Public Health England (PHE) is supporting the local implementation of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance relating to weight management through the publication of an evidence based guide and tools to support the local delivery of lifestyle approaches to help children and their families achieve a healthier weight. PHE is currently exploring how digital approaches could help to extend access of behavioural approaches to families who might benefit the most from support to adopt healthier lifestyles and achieve a healthier weight. NHS England commissions obesity surgery for children with severe complex obesity in line with the commissioning policy. Further information is available at: https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/16053p-obesity-surgery-children-severe-complex-obesity.pdf

Hormone Replacement Therapy

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish his Department’s (a) guidance and (b) charging policy for the provision of Hormone Replacement Therapy by NHS Trusts.

Steve Brine: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published a clinical guideline on the diagnosis and management of menopause in November 2015 that includes recommendations on hormone replacement therapy. NICE’s guideline is available at the following link: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng23 General prescription charges would apply for the provision of Hormone Replacement Therapy. These are currently set at £8.80 per item.

Nutrition: Fruit and Vegetables

Helen Whately: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to promote the consumption of UK (a) fruit and (b) vegetables.

Steve Brine: The Government recommends eating at least five portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables a day as part of a healthy balanced diet. The national food model the Eatwell Guide provides a visual representation of the types and proportions of the foods needed for a healthy, balanced diet, and depicts a diet rich in fruit and vegetables; the guide can be accessed here: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/the-eatwell-guide/ In 2016, the Government’s 5 A Day campaign was refreshed with publication of a new set of 5 A Day logos by Public Health England. The 5 A Day message is embedded in the Eatwell Guide and communicated alongside other healthy eating advice including the Start4Life, Change4Life and One You campaigns, the NHS Choices website as well as Public Health England’s catering guidance. The School Fruit and Vegetables Scheme provides 2.3 million children in Key Stage 1 with a portion of fresh fruit or vegetables each day at school; over 16,000 institutions are signed up to this scheme. Approximately 445 million pieces of fruit and vegetables are distributed to children annually. Schools are encouraged to use it as an opportunity to educate children about fruit and vegetables and to assist a healthy, balanced diet.

Hospitals: Television

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has watched any part of series three of the BBC Two television programme Hospital, episodes first broadcast on 26 March 2018, 3 April 2018, 10 April 2018, 17 April 2018, 24 April 2018 and 1 May 2018.

Caroline Dinenage: This information is not recorded in the Ministerial diary.

Cancer: Nurses

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate his Department has made of the adequacy of the size of the cancer nursing workforce.

Steve Brine: Health Education England (HEE) published its first ever cancer workforce plan in December 2017, which commits to the expansion of capacity and skills. The Plan states that HEE will support the expansion of Cancer Nurse Specialists (CNS) by developing national competencies and a clear route into training, so that every patient has access to a CNS or other support worker by 2021. HEE will work with partners to identify and develop clear career pathways into the CNS role as part of a wider review of the contribution nurses can make to cancer. A more detailed report on nursing and cancer using learning from the recently published Macmillan Specialist Adult Cancer Nurse Census will be contained in phase 2 of the cancer workforce strategy, which will be published by HEE for consultation in the summer.

Cancer: Screening

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure a consistent increase in the uptake of cancer screening throughout all parts of the country.

Steve Brine: NHS England is responsible for commissioning cancer screening services to meet programme standards including coverage. NHS England is working with providers to help identify and address any issues and is committed to improving coverage and reducing mortality from cancer. Each cancer screening specification requires providers to work with local authorities and other stakeholders to address inequalities in uptake. The National Health Service Cancer Screening programmes measure coverage as well as uptake/ take-up rate.

Patients: Travel

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average distance was that a patient travelled from their home to an A&E in each region of England in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Barclay: The requested data is not held centrally.

Diabetes

Liz McInnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of geographic variations in the level of access to prevention education on diabetes potentially becoming a disease of deprivation.

Steve Brine: The NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme was developed to prevent or delay onset of type 2 diabetes in adults in England already identified to be at high risk of type 2 diabetes and was launched in April 2016. Analysis of the first year of the programme showed significantly higher attendance rates in the most deprived quintile compared to the least deprived quintile, 72 per 100,000 population versus 60 per 100,000 population. This suggests that the programme is reaching those who are most at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Soft Drinks: Sales

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2018 to Question 121787, whether the Government has made an assessment of the potential merits of issuing guidance or bringing forward proposals on banning or restricting the sale of high caffeine energy drinks in supermarkets.

Steve Brine: The Government will continue to monitor the situation and any new emerging scientific evidence on the consumption of energy drinks to determine whether any changes to our advice are required. Our current advice is that children, or other people sensitive to caffeine, should only consume caffeine in moderation. It is already a requirement that drinks other than tea and coffee that contain more than 150mg of caffeine per litre are labelled as “not recommended for children”. In addition, many large food and drink retailers, including most supermarkets, have already implemented a voluntary ban on the sale of energy drinks to under-16s.

NHS Trusts: Pay

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many requests for very senior manager salaries above £142,500 have been (a) made by NHS trusts and (b) approved in each of the last three years.

Stephen Barclay: The Department works with NHS Improvement to ensure all proposals from trust remuneration committees for pay above the threshold1 are fair, proportionate and publicly justifiable. This means that any necessary bearing down on pay rates takes place early on in the process and prior to submissions being formally considered by Ministers. Ministers can approve or reject pay proposals from National Health Service trusts. Ministers can only comment on the proposals from NHS foundation trusts if they have concerns. Ministers make no comment where they are content with the proposal. The following table shows the number of cases received, approved, or where no comment was made, between the approvals system beginning in June 2015 to 31 March 2018 in all NHS trusts and foundation trusts; NHS TrustsYearCases ReceivedCases ApprovedJune 2015 – March 20163130April 2016 – March 20174644April 2017 – March 20184645NHS Foundation TrustsYearCases ReceivedCases with No CommentJune 2015 – March 20162520April 2016 – March 20172624April 2017 – March 20184943 Note: 1The threshold of £142,500 was raised to £150,000 with effect from 1 January 2018.

Learning Disability: Death

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to bring forward legislative proposals to make mandatory the reporting of all early deaths of people with learning disabilities.

Caroline Dinenage: In March 2017, the National Quality Board published National Guidance on Learning from Deaths in order to support a consistent approach to delivering better quality reviews and investigations that identify lessons that can be used to improve care. The guidance states that all inpatient, outpatient and community patient deaths of people with learning disabilities should be reviewed so that learning can contribute to service improvements. The guidance also states that individual trusts should publish mortality data on a quarterly basis from 2017-18 including estimates of how many deaths are thought to be due to problems in care, including deaths of people who had a learning disability. The Government introduced regulations in 2017/18 to require trusts to summarise their quarterly data and provide evidence of learning and improvements they have made to prevent such deaths in their annual Quality Accounts from June 2018. The National Health Service (Quality Accounts) (Amendment) Regulations 2017 are available at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2017/744/contents/made The National Health Service (Quality Accounts) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2018 are available at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/59/contents/made

Abortion: Misoprostol

James Frith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to review the value and safety of the regulations under the 1967 Abortion Act relating to the home use of misoprostol for women who are having an early medical abortion.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government’s priority is to ensure that women who require abortion services have access to safe, high-quality care. Abortions in England must be performed under the legal framework set by the Abortion Act 1967. We are not currently in a position to recommend that the home be approved as a class of place under Section 1(3)(a) of the Abortion Act in England. However, we are keeping the position under review, including reviewing the available evidence, and having regard to the ongoing legal proceedings concerning home use in Scotland.

Incinerators: Health Hazards

Dr Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 6 September 2017 to Question 6370 on Incinerators: Health Hazards, what conclusions Public Health England has drawn from its review of evidence on the health effects of waste incinerators published in peer review journals; and what the timetable is for the papers from the study on emissions from waste incinerators commissioned by Public Health England to be published.

Steve Brine: To date, Public Health England is not aware of any evidence that requires a change in its position statement that while it is not possible to rule out adverse health effects from modern, well-regulated municipal waste incinerators with complete certainty, any potential damage to the health of those living close by is likely to be very small, if detectable. Public Health England is funding a study to extend the evidence base as to whether emissions from modern municipal waste incinerators affect human health. The papers from the project are currently being finalised by the Small Area Health Statistics Unit, Imperial College London, and will be submitted to peer reviewed journals by the end of June 2018. It is likely to be a few months after submission for the papers to be published.

Social Services: Finance

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to paragraph 5.5 on page 47 of Budget 2017, what proportion of funding allocated for (a) 2017-18, (b) 2018-19 and (c) 201920 is allocated for (i) funding care packages for more people, (ii) supporting social care providers and (iii) relieving pressure on the NHS locally by local authority and NUTS 1 region.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2017 to Question 902945, how much of the share of the £2 billion allocated to the social care sector in 2017-18 has been spent on attracting and retaining talented staff; and how many local authorities receiving that funding saw staff numbers (i) increase and (ii) decrease in 2017-18.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2018 to Question 128062, how much of the share of the £2 billion funding for (a) 2018-19 and (b) 2019-20 the Government estimates will be used to fund meeting National Minimum Wage requirements for sleep-in shifts.

Caroline Dinenage: As part of the grant conditions for the £2 billion provided for social care at the Spring Budget 2017, local authorities were required to report on how the money would be spent. We anticipate publishing information on 2017-18 later this year; information for subsequent years is not yet available.

Social Services: Finance

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2018 to Question 125600, what proportion of (a) the additional £9.25 billion social care funding and (b) all other social care funding in (i) 2017-18, (ii) 2018-19 and (iii) 2019-20 is ring-fenced.

Caroline Dinenage: Following the publication of the answer to Question 125600, a further £150 million was announced for adult social care in February 2018 taking the total funding that the Government has made available to local authorities for adult social care to £9.4 billion. This includes £2 billion announced at the budget in 2017 and the adult social care precept, which this year provided the flexibility for councils to increase council tax by up to 3% specifically for adult social care. The £2 billion announced in the 2017 budget is ringfenced for adult social care and we also require assurance from local authorities that money raised each year through the adult social care precept is used exclusively for adult social care.

Social Services: Finance

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the announcement in Budget 2017 of an additional £2 billion of funding for social care, whether all of that allocated funding is ring-fenced exclusively for providing social care support and reducing pressure on the NHS; and whether such a ring-fencing requirement is set out as a condition for the grant to local authorities.

Caroline Dinenage: In the Spring Budget in 2017 we announced an additional £2 billion would be given to councils over the next three years for social care. The Government was clear this funding has three purposes, and attached conditions to ensure it would be used to deliver the following:- Meeting adult social care needs generally;- Reducing pressures on the NHS, including delayed discharges of care; and- Stabilising the social care provider market. These conditions were laid out in the new Integration and Better Care Fund Policy Framework 2017-19. They also included a requirement for quarterly reporting by local authorities to confirm the funding is being spent on social care.

Social Services: Finance

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Figure 2 on page 7 of NHS Digital’s report, Adult Social Care Activity and Finance: England 2016-17, published on 25 October 2017, what those figures are in real terms; and whether social care funding rose in real terms in every NUTS 1 region in 2016-17 compared to 2015-16.

Caroline Dinenage: The information requested on real terms figures is contained in the table below. There was an overall real terms increase in social care spending from 2015-16 to 2016-17. Out of the nine regions in the table, seven increased their social care expenditure in real terms. It should be noted that the NHS Digital chart referred to in the question uses gross current expenditure which includes client contributions and excludes all other income, including that from the National Health Service. Government analysis usually uses net current expenditure plus income from the Better Care Fund and so excludes client contributions. Deflator Value1.021997213Total Gross Current Expenditure (GCE) (£ Thousands)from 2015-16 cash to 2016-17 prices2016-172015-162015-16  (in 16-17 £'s)2016-17 less  2015-16 (in 2016-17 £'s)E92000001England£ 17,526,378£ 16,970,217£ 17,343,514£ 182,864E12000001North East£ 928,425£ 893,914£ 913,578£ 14,847E12000002North West£ 2,389,328£ 2,281,123£ 2,331,301£ 58,027E12000003Yorkshire and The Humber£ 1,658,100£ 1,626,275£ 1,662,049-£ 3,949E12000004East Midlands£ 1,444,341£ 1,375,954£ 1,406,221£ 38,120E12000005West Midlands£ 1,769,442£ 1,729,081£ 1,767,116£ 2,326E12000006East of England£ 2,035,638£ 1,953,281£ 1,996,248£ 39,390E12000007London£ 2,618,811£ 2,540,771£ 2,596,661£ 22,150E12000008South East£ 2,800,090£ 2,757,014£ 2,817,661-£ 17,571E12000009South West£ 1,882,204£ 1,812,802£ 1,852,679£ 29,525

Social Services: Finance

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the announcement in Budget 2017 of an additional £2 billion of funding for social care, how many and which local authorities have had their share of the funding in (a) 2017-18 and (b) 2018-19 withheld due to a failure to meet grant conditions.

Caroline Dinenage: No local authorities have had their share of improved Better Care Fund funding withheld in 2017-18 or 2018-19. However Bristol, Northamptonshire and York have been subject to additional conditionality on their 2018-19 improved Better Care Fund allocation.

Social Services: Pay

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care,  what the hourly rate of pay was which local authorities set for care providers in (a) residential care and (b) community-based care (i) as a national average and (ii) for each local authority.

Caroline Dinenage: The vast majority of local authority funded social care is commissioned from external providers and local authorities do not directly set rates of staff pay in these providers. Information on the average unit cost of care commissioned by local authorities is available for 2016/17 in the attached document. No data is collected centrally on the rates of pay paid to staff caring for local authority funded clients.



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Social Services: Minimum Wage

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to social care providers nationally of (a) paying the National Living Wage and (b) meeting historical and future National Minimum Wage requirements for sleep-in shifts in (i) 2017-18, (ii) 2018-19 and (iii) 2019-20.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the announcement in Budget 2017 of an additional £2 billion of funding for social care, whether any of the additional funding (a) for 2017-18 has been used and (b) for 2018-19 or 2019-20 is planned to be used to meet social care providers' (i) historical back-dated costs or (ii) ongoing costs of complying with the tribunal ruling on sleep-in payments and the National Minimum Wage.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government recognises the pressures these liabilities are placing on providers of social care and we are exploring options to minimise any impact on the sector. The Government has worked with the sector, and commissioned market analysis to assess the impact on the sector nationally, however this forms part of the evidence base that is being used to assess options and is subject to further analysis and refinement. In the Spring Budget 2017, an additional £2 billion of funding was made available for local authorities to fund social care. A key purpose of this new funding was to support the social care market. The Government took account of the rising future cost of paying national minimum wage in deciding to provide this sum of additional funding.

Care Homes: Agency Workers

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many agency workers were employed in the care home sector in each year since 2009-10; and what the cost to the public purse was of that employment in each of those years.

Caroline Dinenage: This information is not held centrally.

Consultants: Vacancies

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of advertised consultant posts in hospitals (a) nationally, (b) in South Yorkshire and (c) in Barnsley were not appointed to.

Stephen Barclay: The data is not available in the format requested.

Consultants: Retirement

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of consultants currently working in hospitals in (a) Barnsley, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) nationally are expected to reach the planned average age of retirement over the next decade.

Stephen Barclay: NHS Digital publishes information on workforce statistics and the following table shows the full time equivalent figures for consultants working in England and South Yorkshire that are over the age of 55. NHS Hospital and Community Health Services: Consultants (including directors of public health) in NHS trusts and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in England, South Yorkshire and Barnsley organisations by age as at 31 January 2018 - HeadcountAgeEnglandSouth YorkshireBarnsley551,566515561,278425571,295534581,106286591,066386608122526173526462623242634931846445312165307161662514-67214101681472-691402-70891-71791172361-73372-7419--7513--764--77131-783--797--804--811--821--Source: NHS Digital Monthly Hospital and Community Health Services Workforce Statistics Notes: It is not possible to map workforce data to exact geographical areas. "South Yorkshire organisations" is an aggregate of the following organisations: Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, NHS Barnsley CCG, NHS Bassetlaw CCG, NHS Doncaster CCG, NHS Rotherham CCG, NHS Sheffield CCG, Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust, Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust. Barnsley organisations are an aggregate of the following organisations: Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and NHS Barnsley CCG.

Consultants: Recruitment

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to maintain the level of the consultant workforce over the next decade.

Stephen Barclay: NHS Digital workforce statistics show that with 46,297 consultants in the National Health Service as at January 2018, numbers are at a historic peak. There are 10,400 more consultants in the NHS than in May 2010, representing an increase of 29%. There are over 52,700 doctors in training, an increase of almost 4,900 – 10% - since May 2010. Furthermore, my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced on 20 March the allocation of 1,000 new medical school places in England for domestic students, including places at five brand new medical schools. These 1,000 places are in addition to the 500 new places for domestic students allocated last year to existing schools. Overall, by 2020 there will be an extra 1,500 domestic students doctors entering training each year. The Health Education England publication ‘Facing the Facts – Shaping the Future – a draft health and care workforce strategy for England to 2027’ published in December 2017 sets out actions being taken to ensure sufficient supply of doctors across all grades and specialties, including reform of postgraduate medical education to better support the development of the doctors of tomorrow.

Doctors

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans the Government has to support doctors who want to continue working after reaching retirement age.

Stephen Barclay: Employers are responsible for engaging doctors and other staff about their plans for retirement as they approach their “normal pension age” which will be 60, 65, or state pension age depending on which National Health Service pension scheme they are in. The Government is supporting doctors who want to continue working after reaching retirement age by offering a range of flexible options including “winding down”, “drawing down”, “stepping down”, or “retire and return”. These options are explained in NHS Business Services Authority guidance which is available at the following link: https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/member-hub/applying-your-pension The Department supplemented this with its own ‘Guidance on the re-employment of staff in receipt of their NHS Pension Scheme benefits’, published last year at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/re-employing-staff-who-receive-an-nhs-pension Note: Normal pension ages of 60, 65, and state pension age refer to the 1995, 2008 and 2015 NHS Pension Schemes respectively.

Dementia

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans the Government has to ensure dementia training is provided to all health and social care professionals.

Caroline Dinenage: It is the responsibility of individual employers to ensure that their staff are appropriately trained and competent to fulfil the responsibilities of the role. To support a consistent approach to dementia education and training, the Department commissioned Skills for Health and Health Education England to develop a Core Skills Education and Training Framework. Published in October 2015, the Framework, which sets out the essential skills and knowledge needed for all staff working with people with dementia in health and social care settings, is structured in three tiers, or levels of training, to reflect the different levels of knowledge specific roles would require. The Government’s Dementia 2020 Challenge and associated implementation plan describes a programme of action to deliver sustained improvements in dementia care and set the expectation that social care providers deliver appropriate training on dementia to all relevant staff by 2020 to improve the care of people with the condition. As part of the implementation of the Dementia 2020 Challenge, we are considering how best to extend Tier two training to all relevant staff across health and care settings.

Incinerators

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on what date the study on incinerators by the Small Area Health Statistics Unit is planned to be published.

Steve Brine: The papers from the project are currently being finalised by the Small Area Health Statistics Unit and will be submitted to peer reviewed journals by the end of June 2018. It is likely to be a few months after submission for the papers to be published.

Department of Health and Social Care: Parental Leave

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many male staff of his Department have taken shared parental leave; and what the average length of that leave was.

Caroline Dinenage: The following table shows the number of male staff in the Department who have taken parental leave and the average length of that leave. Number of staff17Average duration (days)112 Notes: 1. Period covering 1 April 2015 – 31 May 2018.2. Figures include periods of full Occupational, statutory and nil pay Shared Parental Leave.

Brain: Tumours

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to accelerate the use of adaptive trials for brain tumour patients.

Caroline Dinenage: The United Kingdom is at the forefront of the international field in novel and innovative clinical trial designs, including as adaptive trials. The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has a wide range of activities focused on developing innovative trial designs, including adaptive trials, within the NIHR Biomedical Research Centres, Clinical Research Facilities, Clinical Trial Units, and the joint NIHR-Medical Research Council Methodology Research Programme. These form a growing proportion of the NIHR Clinical Research Network portfolio, especially in cancer. In addition, the UK Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres (jointly funded by Cancer Research UK and the UK Health Departments) have brought together stakeholders such as the Medicines and Health products Regulatory Agency, the Health Research Authority, industry, and researchers to develop consensus and guidance on efficient processes for developing, managing, and regulating such studies. In April the NIHR committed to invest £40 million in brain tumour research over the next five years. Action will be taken right across the NIHR portfolio to support a wide range of research, including adaptive clinical trials. In doing this the NIHR will work closely with its partners, including other Government funders, and major charities such as Brain Tumour Research, The Brain Tumour Charity and Cancer Research UK.

Brain: Tumours

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to increase public and health professionals' awareness of the signs and symptoms of brain tumours.

Steve Brine: Improving early diagnosis of all cancer is a priority for this Government however the Department recognises that diagnosis of brain tumours can present certain challenges in general practice. As such, the Department supports the work of HeadSmart in increasing awareness of symptoms that might be brain cancer. As well as making the National Health Service in England aware of the benefits of HeadSmart, the Department has highlighted its benefits with Directors of Public Health, health visitors and school nurses, to encourage their use by professionals in signposting to specialist advice if needed. Further information is available at:https://www.headsmart.org.uk/Public Health England (PHE) works closely with the Department and NHS England to ensure that health care professionals are also targeted with Be Clear on Cancer campaign information to encourage earlier diagnoses and referrals. PHE also works closely with the devolved administrations to ensure consistency of messages in their own campaigns and initiatives.

Child Sexual Abuse Independent Panel Inquiry

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on producing a formal response to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse's report on Child Migration Programmes.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The policy of child migration was misguided and deeply flawed. We are carefully considering the content and recommendations in the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse report on the Child Migration Programmes and will provide a formal response in due course.

Members: Correspondence

Carol Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Glasgow North West dated 25 April 2018 on myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Steve Brine: The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Lord O’Shaughnessy) responded to the hon. Member on 21 May.

Learning Disability: Death

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to allocation additional funding to the Learning Disability Mortality Review Programme to ensure the completion of the outstanding reviews into avoidable deaths of people with learning disabilities.

Caroline Dinenage: NHS England has allocated an additional £1.4 million for clinical commissioning group/sustainability and transformation partnership areas to support the delivery of the Learning Disability Mortality Review Programme in 2018/19 in its agreed fourth year of operation. This will facilitate the better establishment and running of the local mortality review programmes and reduce the backlog of mortality reviews. The learning from the reviews is being used to inform work on programmes such as increasing general practitioner annual health checks, care pathways for key mortality issues such as sepsis, epilepsy and constipation, for example, alongside other learning disability health practice improvement work.

Learning Disability: Death

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria NHS England will use to monitor the quality of the remaining reviews into the early deaths of people with learning disabilities notified to the Learning Disability Mortality Review Programme.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department has been informed by NHS England that NHS England follows the University of Bristol Learning Disability Mortality Review Programme guidance methodology on quality assuring reviews. The University of Bristol provides a quality assurance role as part of the programme alongside local steering groups.

Learning Disability: Death

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS England plans to publish regular progress reports on the remaining reviews into the early deaths of people with learning disabilities notified to the Learning Disability Mortality Review Programme.

Caroline Dinenage: NHS England has informed us that it plans to publish further reports by the University of Bristol relating to the Learning Disability Mortality Review Programme, through its contract arrangement with the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership.

Suicide: County Durham

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to allocate additional funding from the NHS England suicide prevention and reduction scheme to (a) Easington Constituency and (b) County Durham.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the reasons for the higher than average rate of suicide in (a) Easington Constituency and (b) County Durham.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government set an ambition to reduce suicides by 10% by 2020/21 through the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health. As part of this ambition we are investing £25 million over the next three years to support the development and implementation of local suicide prevention plans as well as a national quality improvement programme on suicide prevention. NHS England consulted with a wide range of stakeholders and published details of how this funding will be invested in local areas on 17 May available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/2018/05/suicide-prevention-and-reduction/ The Durham, Darlington, Teesside, Hambleton, Richmondshire and Whitby Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) area will be one of the first STP areas to receive funding of £405,108 which includes the Easington Constituency and County Durham area. In 2018/19, local communities that are worst affected by suicide are being given this additional funding to implement suicide prevention and reduction schemes which will reach the whole country by 2021. There will be multiple factors that impact the suicide risk in a particular geographical area these will vary between areas and their populations. Local authorities and other local services are best placed to assess the suicide risk in their area and to implement tailored approaches to reducing the risk of suicide in their communities, which is why every local area is developing a multi-agency suicide prevention plan. The Department and Public Health England will be working with local authorities and other stakeholders to quality assure these plans. Public Health England published a suite of guidance to local authorities on developing local suicide prevention plans last year, which provides advice on undertaking a local suicide audit so that local areas can get a better understanding of the risks of suicide in their communities and take appropriate action. The guidance is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/suicide-prevention-resources-and-guidance This guidance was also supported by a series of masterclasses across the country for local authorities which were attended by over 500 people.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Carol Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding from the public purse was allocated to biomedical research into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis 2014-2015.

Carol Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding from the public purse was allocated to biomedical research into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis 2015-2016.

Carol Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding from the public purse was allocated to biomedical research into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis 2016-2017.

Carol Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding from the public purse he plans to allocate to biomedical research into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis in the current financial year.

Caroline Dinenage: In the period in question, the major National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funding for biomedical research was through its Biomedical Research Centres and Units. These support research funded by the NIHR itself and also research funded by other public, charity and industry research funders. The level of funding for biomedical research into chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) for each financial year can be found in the table below. The funding for this research came from a combination of funders. Financial Year£2014-15280,4422015-16295,6262016-17130,958 The NIHR Clinical Research Network (CRN) provides the infrastructure that allows high-quality clinical research funded by charities, research funders and life-sciences industry to be undertaken throughout the National Health Service. The level of funding for biomedical research into CFS/ME for each financial year can be found in the table below. The funding for this research came from a combination of the NIHR, the Medical Research Council (MRC) and medical research charities. Expenditure from the CRN coordinating centre itself is also outlined below: Financial YearCRN funding for research, £Coordinating expenditure, £2014-15134,76917,4852015-16125,17617,7962016-1782,8667,821 The MRC spend on research directly relating to CFS/ME can be found in the following table. Research into CFS/ME is a continuing priority for the MRC. Financial Year£2014-15652,0442015-16287,2342016-17286,197 The NIHR and the MRC welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including biomedical research into CFS/ME. It is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. On this basis, it is not possible to say how much funding is planned in the current financial year. The NIHR recognises that CFS/ME is a debilitating condition and is speaking with the United Kingdom CFS/ME Research Collaborative and patient representatives about how best we can support a joined up approach to high quality research into this complex disorder.

NHS: Migrant Workers

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government has plans to charge European Economic Area NHS staff the NHS surcharge after the UK leaves the European Union.

Stephen Barclay: There are no plans to charge European Economic Area National Health Service staff the NHS surcharge after the United Kingdom leaves the European Union. The Department is working to ensure the best outcome for the health and social care system. All relevant policy teams within the Department are involved with this work and are assessing the implications of the UK leaving the EU on their area. Cost recovery arrangements once the UK has left the EU will be subject to the outcome of this work.

Patients: Travel

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the oral contribution of the hon. Member for Thurrock on 10 January 2018, column 146WH, when his Department plans to publish its report on patient travel times.

Steve Brine: The National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service intend to publish reports on travel times for cancer patients in June 2018.

Social Services: Finance

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care,  pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2018 to Question 128062 on social services: minimum wage, if he will provide funding to reimburse the historical capital costs of social care sector organisations.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government recognises the pressures that sleep-in liabilities are placing on social care providers and is exploring options to minimise any impact on the sector. Any intervention to support the sector would need to be proportionate and necessary. In the interim the Government will continue to work closely with stakeholders to ensure that we have a clear understanding of any impact the sector may face.

Department for International Development

Gaza: Health Services

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of medical provision in Gaza as a result of the casualties among Palestinian protesters.

Alistair Burt: The UK is deeply concerned by the current medical provision in Gaza following the recent protests. My officials are working closely with our international partners to ensure a coordinated and effective response. The International Committee of the Red Cross noted on May 14th that the health system is close to collapse, with the casualties from the protests exacerbating an already acutely overstretched system. There are longstanding shortages of medical supplies, electricity and fuel. In response, I am reviewing how the UK can best support the health system in Gaza at this time. I will keep the House informed of my decision.

Gaza: Health Services

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether she plans to allocate addition funding for medical services in Gaza.

Alistair Burt: The UK is working closely with our international partners to monitor the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and ensure a coordinated and effective response to urgent medical needs. The UK provides clean water and rehabilitates sanitation facilities to stop the spread of disease for up to 1 million Gazans through the United Nations Children’s Fund. UK financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority helps to pay the salaries of vetted health public servants in the West Bank. Last year this support provided up to 3,700 immunisations for children and around 185,000 medical consultations annually. In addition, the UK is a long-term supporter of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which provides basic services, including basic healthcare, to over 800,000 Palestinian refugees in the West Bank and 1.3 million Palestinian refugees in Gaza. I am reviewing how the UK can best support the health system in Gaza at this time. I will keep the House informed of my decision.

Syria: Overseas Aid

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment he has made of the merits of using drones to drop emergency aid into Syria; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: Aid delivered by road by trusted humanitarian partners is by far the most effective way to meet needs in Syria and to ensure that it reaches those most in need. We have, however, examined all options as part of our determination to do everything we can to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people. Airdrops, manned or using drones, are not capable of meeting either the scale of needs or delivering many of the kinds of aid that could address the priority needs that we see in Syria (e.g. safe drinking water, health support). Furthermore, we judge that such an operation would carry a high level of risk because the consent is needed of those who control the airspace and those on the ground that could threaten aircraft. There is nothing to suggest that the Assad regime would provide such consent, given that it continues to use the denial of aid as a weapon of war.

Palestinians: Refugees

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans the Government has made to provide humanitarian support for a potential increase in Palestinian refugees across the Middle East as a result of the recent violence in Gaza.

Alistair Burt: We are not aware of an increase in the number of internally displaced persons within Gaza, or an increase in the number of refugees in the region, as a result of the recent violence on the Israel-Gaza border. However, more than 22,500 people remain displaced in Gaza since the 2014 conflict. The UK is a long term supporter of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) which supports Palestinian refugees across the region, including those displaced in Gaza, through the provision of: basic education to around 500,000 children; health services for around 3 million Palestinian refugees; social assistance for approximately 280,000 of the poorest Palestinian refugees; and a source of income for almost 30,000 refugees working for UNRWA. The UK will deliver its next round of financial support earlier than originally planned to meet the growing needs of Palestinian refugees across the region.

Developing Countries: HIV Infection

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to ensure the (a) adequacy and (b) reliability of funding provided by her Department to (i) regional and (ii) global civil society network programmes to respond to the HIV epidemic.

Alistair Burt: The UK government is well aware of the barriers faced by global and regional civil society networks pressing for a human rights-based response to HIV. That is why the UK government played a leadership role with other founding donors in setting up the Robert Carr Civil Society Networks Fund. So far the UK has committed £9 million. We will make our decision on future investments to the Fund later this year.

Yemen: Health Services

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of (a) recent trends in the capacity of the health services in Yemen to treat (i) cholera and (ii) diphtheria cases and (b) the effect of those trends on the rate of cases of each disease.

Alistair Burt: The deterioration of health facilities in Yemen remains deeply concerning. Only 22% of health facilities – half of which are either closed or not fully functional – can treat communicable diseases, such as cholera and diphtheria. The ability of health services to treat these diseases is further complicated by the on-going conflict, access obstructions, and the non-payment of salaries to public sector workers. UK aid of £170 million to Yemen this financial year (2018/19) includes support to the UN and NGOs for tackling the underlying causes of cholera by providing emergency food, nutrition support, and clean water and sanitation to millions of people in Yemen. DFID continues to monitor the rate of new cholera and diphtheria cases, as well as the health response in Yemen. In total, 1,097,962 suspected cholera cases have been reported between 27 April 2017 and 13 May 2018, causing 2,286 deaths. Between 13 August 2017 and 5 May 2018, 1,703 suspected cases of diphtheria have been reported, causing 90 deaths. The UK also supported the first ever phase of a cholera vaccination campaign in Yemen which was completed on 15 May in the south of the country, helping protect more than 450,000 men, women and children. In her statement on 15 May, the International Development Secretary urged all parties to the conflict to allow the next phase of the vaccination campaign to proceed and to enable full and unhindered access including in the north of the country.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Ebola

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what funding her Department has allocated to the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to tackle the spread of Ebola in Mbandaka.

Harriett Baldwin: DFID in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is supporting the Government of DRC and the World Health Organisation (WHO) to tackle the spread of Ebola. The UK is funding a number of interventions including being the second largest contributor to the WHO Contingency Fund for Emergencies which has released $2 million to support response activities for the next three months. In addition, the UK supported the development of vaccines of which 4,000 are now in the DRC with more scheduled to arrive imminently. DFID stands ready to do more if required.

Department for Education

Pre-school Education: Finance

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will make an assessment of the adequacy of the level of local authority early years funding rates in advance of the start of the next school year.

Nadhim Zahawi: By 2019-20 the government will be investing £1 billion a year to increase our hourly funding rates for the free entitlements and delivery of 30 hours of free childcare. This will take the amount the government spends on early years’ education to around £6 billion by 2019-20 – the highest ever amount. These funding rates are based on our ‘Review of Childcare Costs’, which was described as “thorough and wide ranging” by the National Audit Office. This looked at both the current costs of childcare provision and the implications of future cost pressures facing the sector, including the National Living Wage. We continue to monitor delivery costs of our early years’ entitlements and have commissioned new research to provide us with robust and detailed cost data from a representative sample of early years providers, which will be published in due course. We continue to monitor local authority funding of providers via the collection of data on their annual planned budget.

Children: Day Care

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government plans to provide business rates relief to childcare providers.

Nadhim Zahawi: We are investing a record amount into the early years sector, spending around £6 billion per year by 2019-20, which includes £1 billion a year to deliver 30 hours of free childcare and increase our hourly funding rates that we introduced in April 2017. The government has also increased Small Business Rate Relief and provided local authorities with funding to support £300 million of discretionary business rates relief. Local authorities are able to use this to support local nurseries.

Children: Day Care

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many meetings he has had with small business owners in the childcare sector in each of the last two years.

Nadhim Zahawi: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State has met with two small business owners in the childcare sector since his appointment on 8 January 2017. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State and I have visited a range of childcare providers since our appointments and continue to engage regularly with representatives from the sector.

Free School Meals: Immigrants

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information his Department holds on the number of children in families with the legal right to remain in the UK with an attached no recourse to public funds condition on their leave to remain who are unable to access free school meals; and what plans the Government has to review the policy and practice in those circumstances.

Nadhim Zahawi: The information on the number of children in families who have no recourse to public funds is not held centrally.Free school meals are available to disadvantaged families in receipt of certain qualifying benefits, including children of immigrants and refugees who are receiving support under Part VI of the Immigration & Asylum Act 1999.Decisions as to whether immigrants or refugees have recourse to public funds and/or receive support under Part VI of the Immigration & Asylum Act 1999 are made by the Home Office. The Home Office is able to exercise discretion to grant recourse to public funds where the family would otherwise be destitute. Where this entitles the family to receive certain benefits they may also be able to claim free school meals.

Free Schools: Closures

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many free schools have closed in each year for which data is available.

Nadhim Zahawi: There are currently 393 free schools open. Since 2010, eight free schools have closed. and one closure is planned for summer 2018. The primary objective of the department when making a decision to close a school is to ensure the best possible educational outcomes for pupils and to secure value for money for the taxpayer. Academic yearFree school closures2013/14Discovery New School2014/15The Durham Free School, Dawes Lane Academy, Stockport Technical School2015/16St Michael’s Secondary School2016/17Bolton Wanderers Free School, Collective Spirit Free School2017/18Southwark Free SchoolTotal8

Children: Disadvantaged

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to improve the support provided to children in need.

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to improve the outcomes of children in need.

Nadhim Zahawi: All children, no matter where they live, should have access to the same high quality care and support to meet their needs. This includes stronger initial training and clarity about the knowledge and skills social workers need in their jobs, and creating an environment where innovation can flourish and frontline practice is driven by evidence. The government continues to implement its reform programme as set out in Putting Children First (2016). We are also taking decisive action to improve services in inadequate local authorities through our interventions programme and by implementing a new improvement strategy for local authorities at risk of failing. The government recently launched a review into the outcomes of children in need, publishing extensive data on the educational outcomes of this cohort and launching a call for evidence. The review’s work continues, and we are engaging with professionals and organisations who support children in need and with 3 What Works Centres - the Education Endowment Foundation, Early Intervention Foundation, and the What Works Centre for Children’s Social Care - to build our national evidence base on how best to improve these outcomes.

Children: Disadvantaged

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing transition support for children in need.

James Frith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing transition support for children in need.

James Frith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the quality of transitions for children in need into adulthood.

Nadhim Zahawi: The government is committed to preparing vulnerable children for adult life and recognises the challenges and importance of transition. The statutory guidance, Working Together to Safeguard Children, makes it clear that when children on child protection plans reach the age of eighteen, local authorities should consider whether support services are still required. For children leaving care, the offer of support from local authorities now extends to twenty-five.We are already delivering a major programme of reform, as set out in Putting Children First (2016). We are working to improve the quality of the workforce, develop and spread innovative practice, and improve the quality of local authority children’s services. We are also using the Department for Education’s Social Care Innovation Programme to trial programmes to improve the quality of support for adolescents.On 16 March the government launched a review into the outcomes of children in need and opened a call for evidence. We will consider the full range of views we receive in response to the call for evidence, including any around transition support and the way this is planned by local authorities.

Schools: Combined Cadet Force

Leo Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to encourage the establishment of Combined Cadet Force units in state schools; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The Government wants as many pupils as possible to benefit from the life-changing activities offered by becoming a Cadet. The Cadet Expansion Programme was launched in June 2012 with the aim to deliver 100 new Combined Cadet Force units in state-funded schools by September 2015. This initial target was delivered six months early, in March 2015. The Government has committed to extend the number of cadet units in UK schools to 500 by March 2020 and the Department is on track to meet this target, with 453 school cadet units established so far.

Teachers: West Midlands

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the pupil to teacher ratio is in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in (A) the West Midlands and (B) Coventry.

Nick Gibb: The following table provides the average pupil to teacher/teaching assistant ratio[1] in state funded nursery and primary and state funded secondary schools in the West Midlands region, Coventry local authority and England in November 2016 the latest year available. November 2017 figures will be available in the summer.   School Type Coventry West Midlands England State funded nursery and primary20.921.020.6State Funded secondary15.215.715.6  Source: School Workforce Census and School Census   [1] The within-school Pupil:Teacher Ratio (qualified and unqualified teachers) is calculated by dividing the January 2017 total Full Time Equivalent (FTE) number of pupils on roll in schools by the November 2016 total number of FTE teachers in schools. Where schools are not open on Census (January) they are excluded. See School Workforce Census methodology document for further information: Methodology: SFR25/2017

Higher Education: Refugees

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many university places were awarded to people with refugee status in the UK in each year between 2008 and 2018.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Information on the number of people with refugee status who were awarded a university place or enrolled at UK universities is not held by the department. Student support is available to those recognised as refugees (and their spouses, civil partners and children named on the initial application for asylum), provided they have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands since being recognised by the government as a refugee and are ordinarily resident in England on the first day of the first academic year of the course. They are exempt from the three year residence requirement. Asylum seekers who are recognised as refugees after the start of their course may qualify for the following support for the remainder of their studies:living cost support in any subsequent years of the course (and in the quarters following the award in the year of the award); andfee loans in any subsequent years of the course (and in the year of the award if the award is made within three months of the first day of the academic year of the course). Management information provided by the Student Loans Company showing the number of English domiciled applicants with refugee status who were awarded a student loan up to the academic year 2016 to 2017 can be found in the table below. Comparable data for the academic year 2017 to 2018 will be available from September 2018.   English Domiciled applicants with refugee status awarded student loans Academic years 2008 to 2009 to 2016 to 2017 (data effective as at the end of each academic year) Academic YearNumber of refugees awarded loans2008/092,2002009/102,0002010/112,5002011/123,0002012/133,7002013/143,8002014/153,9002015/163,7002016/173,700 Source: SLC, Management Information Note: Awards do not necessarily translate into payments. An awarded applicant will only receive payments once SLC has received confirmation from the student’s provider that the student has been registered on the course.

Local Government Services: Children

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the provision of statutory services for children by local authorities.

Nadhim Zahawi: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has recently discussed children’s social care with colleagues, including the my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which includes the provision of statutory services for children by local authorities. The department works closely with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government on a range of policy areas including local authority children’s social care services, the Troubled Families Programme and work to reduce the number of care leavers who experience homelessness and rough sleeping.

Local Government Services: Children

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness with which local authorities are discharging their statutory duties to children.

Nadhim Zahawi: Ofsted inspects local authority services for children in need of help and protection, children in care, and care leavers. These inspections focus on the effectiveness of local authority services, arrangements in discharging their statutory duties and the quality of leadership and management. The department uses this inspection data and a range of other measures to assess the overall health of the system and the performance of individual local authorities. Current inspection data suggests that significant improvements are needed before the sector is working at a good level, though there has been some good recent progress. ‘Putting Children First’, published in 2016 sets out a clear approach to issues identified in the delivery of children’s social care services across the country and we continue to deliver the measures proposed in it. For individual local authorities, in particular those whose performance is deemed ‘inadequate’ or ‘requires improvement to be good’, the department works with the local government sector to drive improvements. We work with 15 ‘Partner in Practice’ local authorities to develop excellence in children’s social care services and to build capacity to support weaker councils to improve.

Local Government Services: Children

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will assess the effectiveness of the way in which local authorities are funded to provide statutory services to children.

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the means by which local authorities are funded for the statutory services they provide to children.

Nadhim Zahawi: Funding for children’s services is an un-ring-fenced part of the wider local government finance settlement, to give local authorities the flexibility to focus on locally determined priorities and, of course, their statutory responsibilities, including children’s social care. Over the five year period from 2015-16 to 2019-20 councils will have access to more than £200 billion to deliver the local services their communities want to see, including children’s services. In February, Parliament confirmed the 2018-19 settlement for local government, providing a real terms increase in resources available to local government - £44.3 billion in 2017-18 to £45.1 billion in 2018-19. The government’s fair funding review of relative needs and resources will develop a robust, up-to-date approach to distributing funding across all local authorities in England at local government finance settlements, including for children’s services. We are working towards implementation in 2020/21, while keeping this date under review as our work progresses. To inform the review, the Department for Education and the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government have jointly commissioned a data research and collection project on the cost and demand pressures for children’s services, to understand local authorities’ relative funding needs.

Physical Education

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has any plans to increase the time pupils participate in physical education.

Nadhim Zahawi: Physical education (PE) is a compulsory subject at all four key stages in the National Curriculum. All schools in England are expected to teach PE as part of a broad and balanced curriculum. It is up to schools to decide how much time to dedicate to PE and the government does not set central expectations. The Chief Medical Officers have recommended that primary school pupils should be active for 60 minutes a day. The government’s ‘Childhood Obesity: Plan for Action’ recommends that least 30 minutes should be delivered in school every day, partly through PE but also through active break times, extra-curricular clubs, active lessons, or other sport and physical activity events. The department is supporting this through initiatives such as the Primary PE and Sport premium- doubling the premium to £320 million a year from September 2017 using revenue from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy. Schools must use the funding to make additional and sustainable improvements to the quality of PE and sport they offer and make improvements now that will benefit pupils joining the school in future years.

Education: Assessments

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to prevent cheating in examinations.

Nick Gibb: In relation to examinations in England this is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have asked its Chief Regulator, Sally Collier, to write directly to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses. Regulation of qualifications in Northern Ireland is a matter for the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment.

Schools: Swindon

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many additional school places have been created in (a) North Swindon constituency and (b) Swindon Borough Council in each year since 2010.

Nick Gibb: The Department collects information from each local authority on the number of school places through the annual school capacity survey (SCAP). The Department does not collect school capacity information at parliamentary constituency level. Data relating to the position at May 2017 (for the 2016/17 academic year) is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-capacity-academic-year-2016-to-2017. Since 2010 an additional 5,929 school places have been created in the Swindon local authority area. The year on year increase is shown in the attached table.



Swindon LA School places 2010-17
(Word Document, 13.22 KB)

Hull College of Further Education: Finance

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason Hull College's fresh start formula funding included was a cap on its staffing costs; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: Hull College Group (the College) has been making significant year on year losses and has therefore been in financial intervention. The College has developed a plan to deliver financial sustainability and quality education which meets local needs through a ‘Fresh Start’, for which the department is providing supporting funding through the Restructuring Facility. The College’s plan includes a reduction in staff costs. The Further Education Commissioner’s intervention report published in January 2017 noted the college had staff costs of around 78% of income in 2015/16. This is significantly higher than the benchmark based on experience from well-run, sustainable colleges of staff costs of around 60-65% of income.

Schools: Harborough

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding his Department allocated to schools in Harborough constituency in each financial year since 2010-11; and what estimate he has made of the funding that will be allocated to schools in Harborough constituency under the National Funding Formula in (a) 2018-19 and (b) 2019-20.

Nick Gibb: I refer the hon. Member for Harborough to the answer I gave on 10 May 2018 to Question 138114. The Department primarily allocates revenue funding for schools at local authority (LA) level. Schools in Harborough will attract 6.4% more funding under the final national funding formula for schools, equivalent to £256 more per pupil. LAs will continue to set local formulae to determine individual schools’ budgets in 2018-19 and 2019-20. It remains the Government’s intention that every school’s budget should be set on the basis of a single, national formula, but a period of transition will provide greater stability for schools. The Department will publish notional funding formula allocations for 2019/20 later this year after updating calculations using the latest autumn census data.

State Education

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupils were being educated in the state sector in (a) Harborough constituency, (b) Leicestershire, (c) Leicester and (d) England in each financial year since 2010-11; and what estimate he has made of the number of pupils there will be in each of these areas in (a) 2018-19 and (b) 2019-20.

Nick Gibb: Information on schools and pupils is published at the annual ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics’ statistical release: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2017.Data is not summarised by parliamentary constituency, but data for each school is available in the Underlying data: SFR28/2017 of the annual ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics’ statistical release, contained in file ‘SFR28_2017_Schools_Pupils_UD’. The figures can be filtered by school phase (column N), parliamentary constituency (column V). The headcount of pupils can be found in column DW. The number of pupils being educated in the state sector in England in each year since 2010-11 can be found in Table 2a in the National tables: SFR28/2017. Information for earlier years (from 2010 onwards) can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-school-and-pupil-numbers. Forecasts of pupil numbers at local authority level (LA) can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-capacity-academic-year-2016-to-2017Tables A5 (primary) and A6 (secondary) of the main tables give the LA forecasted pupil numbers. Forecasts are not produced at constituency level.

Academies

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what his policy is on whether (a) people can be on the membership of more than one multi academy trust board and (b) the chair of a multi academy trust board should be allowed to chair more than one trust.

Nadhim Zahawi: The department does not prohibit people from sitting on the trust board, and being chair, of more than one multi-academy trust (MAT) board. However, the board of trustees must ensure that the requirements for managing conflicts of interest are applied across the trust. The chair of the board of trustees and the accounting officer must ensure that their capacity to control and influence does not conflict with these requirements.The department actively encourages individuals with either strong educational or financial skills to join additional MAT boards. Non-executive members are almost all unpaid volunteers and provide vital expertise to the schools system.

Children: North of England

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she is taking steps to implement recommendation 8 of the report Growing up North, published by the Children's Commissioner in March 2018.

Anne Milton: Recommendation 8 of the report ‘Growing up North’ stated that Local Enterprise Partnerships need to expand their programmes to bring employers and schools together to widen children’s horizons and open up job prospects. Local Enterprise Partnerships have an important role in skills and education. They are working closely with The Careers & Enterprise Company to co-fund a network of Enterprise Co-ordinators and volunteer Enterprise Advisers. The network helps secondary schools and colleges in England to improve their careers and enterprise provision and to make links with employers so that more young people benefit from encounters with the world of work. There are now over 2,000 Enterprise Advisers in the network. Our careers strategy says that by 2020, all secondary schools and colleges will have access to an Enterprise Adviser. We have also announced a new £5 million fund to help disadvantaged pupils to get the additional support they need to prepare for work, including opportunities for mentoring and guidance. More information can be found on The Careers & Enterprise Company’s website: https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/.

Ministry of Justice

Courts: Closures

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on the potential additional financial costs on police forces in areas where the local court has recently closed.

Lucy Frazer: Whilst the Secretary of State for Justice has not specifically discussed with the Home Secretary the potential additional financial costs on police forces in areas where the local court has recently closed, HM Courts and Tribunal Service conducts public consultations when court closures are proposed. These consultations invite views from any affected police forces, and local Police and Crime Commissioners. The Secretary of State takes into account the responses received before deciding how to proceed.

Courts: Closures

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has received representations on the availability of independent domestic violence advisers to attend court in areas where the local court has recently closed.

Lucy Frazer: Whilst the Secretary of State for Justice has not specifically received any representations on the availability of independent domestic violence advisors in areas where the local court has recently closed, HM Courts and Tribunal Service conducts public consultations when court closures are proposed. These consultations seek views from court users, including those providing victim support services and prior to making a decision on court closures the Secretary of State takes into account the responses received before deciding how to proceed.

Prisoners

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the prison population in England and Wales was for the most recent date for which information is available; and how many of those prisoners were formerly members of the armed forces.

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of prisoners who are serving a sentence or on remand in England and Wales who had previously served in (a) the British Army, (b) the Royal Navy and (c) the Royal Air Force for the most recent date for which information is available.

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of prisoners  who had joined the armed forces aged 17 years or under for the most recent period for which information is available.

Rory Stewart: As of 31 March 2017, the prison population was 83,263. In 2015 the Ministry of Justice made changes so every prisoner coming into custody in England and Wales is asked if they have served in the Armed Forces. Figures on custodial receptions show approximately 3% of offenders who responded to the question were former members of the Armed Forces. Overall numbers have remained consistent over an 18 month period. Full details can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/702302/receptions-2017-q4.ods (table 2.7). A snapshot of service history following a data matching exercise in 2010 between Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Justice indicated 77% of ex-armed service personnel in prison were ex-Army, 15% were ex-Naval Service, and 8% were ex-RAF. Information on their age when joining the armed services is not recorded and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. We recognise the unique nature of military service. Prisoners who choose to identify as former members of the Armed Forces are given access to specialist support that is available to them via the armed forces and the specialist charities that work in prisons. This includes support for issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), that may affect them following their service.

Young Offenders: North Wales

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate his Department has made of the number of young people sentenced in each sentencing court of (a) the Crown Court and (b) magistrates' courts for (i) less than 6 months and (ii) more than 6 months of custody in the North Wales Police Force Area in each of the last 5 years.

Dr Phillip Lee: The number of young people aged 10 to 17 sentenced, by court and by length of sentence within the North Wales Police Force Area from 2012 to 2016, can be viewed in the attached table.Figures are broken down by less than 6 months, 6 months and more than 6-month sentences. 



Table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 12.8 KB)

Independent Monitoring Boards

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether any Independent Monitoring Boards have fewer than three members as of 1 May 2018.

Rory Stewart: The Independant Monitoring Board Secretariat does not hold historical data. However, they have confirmed that, as of 21 May 2018, there were no Independent Monitoring Boards with fewer than three members.

Remand in Custody

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of people who were remanded on their first appearance appeared in court from police custody in the last twelve months for which data is available.

Rory Stewart: In 2017, of those who were remanded in custody at magistrates’ courts, 79% were held in custody by the police until their first court appearance. However, the custody figures for police remand status and magistrates’ remand status comprise of defendants who were remanded at any point during the process not necessarily at first arrest or first court appearance.

Remand in Custody

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information the Government holds on the effect of remand decisions in cases where the defendant appears on video either from the police station or from prison.

Lucy Frazer: Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) does not hold this information centrally. It could only be obtained at disproportionate cost by examining individual case records.

Courts: ICT

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans his Department has put in place to ensure that members of the public and journalists are able to access information about cases to at least the same extent that they can at present after the planned extension of digital court hearings.

Lucy Frazer: The openness of court proceedings and access to information regarding cases continues to be a critical consideration as we deliver HMCTS reforms. The government is working to ensure there are open justice solutions for cases held by the new digital channels that replicate the existing practices in the courts. Where appropriate we will continue to ensure access to listings, case statuses and outcomes is maintained.

Courts: ICT

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what research his Department has undertaken or commissioned on the views of victims of crime in respect of the planned digital courts reform programme.

Lucy Frazer: As the digital courts reform programme is developed and implemented user research will be conducted with those affected by changes including victims.

Courts: ICT

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what research his Department has undertaken or commissioned on the views of witnesses in respect of the planned digital courts reform programme.

Lucy Frazer: As the digital courts reform programme is developed and implemented user research will be conducted with those affected by changes including witnesses.

Prison Officers: Redundancy Pay

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the cost was to the public purse of severance packages paid to prison officers who took voluntary early departure in 2013 and were subsequently re-recruited.

Rory Stewart: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Prison Sentences

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times magistrates have handed down a 12 month sentence in each of the last five years.

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many sentences magistrates handed down in each of the last five years.

Lucy Frazer: The number of sentences imposed by magistrates’ courts, including sentences of 12 months, can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/707662/sentencing-2017-tool.xlsx From the drop down “Courts” list select Magistrates Court. To see the number of sentences of 12 months, from the “Custodial Sentence Length” select 12 months.

Debt Collection

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make it his policy that letters relating to enforcement court orders sent to residences are unnamed to ensure that in incidences where the offender (a) does not live and (b) has never lived at the residence the occupants of that residence have a right to reply to the court before enforcement action is taken.

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many court orders the High Court has issued to Enforcement Agents that relate to an address where an offender (a) does not currently reside and (b) has never resided in each of the last five years.

Lucy Frazer: The Ministry of Justice has no proposals to change its policy that letters relating to the enforcement of court orders are sent to a named individual or business. Effective enforcement action requires a court judgment or order to be made clearly against a party. An occupant of a residence or business premises should inform the court if they are not the named individual on an enforcement document. The Ministry of Justice does not hold the data on the number of court orders the High Court has issued to enforcement agents that relate to an address where the judgment debtor does not reside or has never resided.

Offences against Children

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of spending on the services and treatment for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse.

Dr Phillip Lee: The Government is committed to ensuring that all victims of crime have access to the support services they need to help them cope with and, as far as possible, recover from the effects of crime. We will be spending about £96m this year to fund support services for victims of crime. Of this, about £68m is being allocated to Police and Crime Commissioners to locally commission or provide support services for victims of crime, based on their assessment of local need. This includes victims of sexual violence. Further, in 2018/19 we allocated funding of over £7.2 million for rape support services across England and Wales to provide independent, specialist support to female and male victims of sexual violence, including victims of child sexual abuse. On 25 April, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse published its Interim Report. The Report provides an overview of the work undertaken so far and sets out what the Chair and Panel consider to be key emerging themes. The Report also contains recommendations for specific changes to help better protect children from sexual abuse, including establishing the current level and effectiveness of public expenditure on services for child victims and adult survivors of child sexual abuse in England. The Government welcomes the Report and is considering the Inquiry’s recommendations very carefully.

Department for International Trade

Economic Partnership Agreements: Developing Countries

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what discussions he had at the most recent Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting on the effect of Economic Partnership Agreements on developing countries in the Commonwealth.

Greg Hands: The Commonwealth is a strong and powerful network of nations. Intra-Commonwealth trade in goods and services is estimated to be $560 billion and projected to reach $700bn by 2020[1] and in 2016, UK-Commonwealth trade stood at £94 billion[2]. Britain is an international leader on development, and the Department for International Trade is working with the Department for International Development to ensure global prosperity is at the heart of our future trade policy. We are committed to ensuring developing countries in the Commonwealth can use trade as an engine of poverty reduction, and trade agreements play an important role in this. This department continues to work with Commonwealth countries that are part of the EU’s Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) or other preferential arrangements to ensure that there is no disruption to our existing trade as we leave the EU. At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting we highlighted progress made in the transition of our trading relationships with these partners. [1] Source: Commonwealth Secretariat Report[2] Source: DIT analysis of ONS data

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Small Businesses: Non-domestic Rates

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what support his Department provides to micro businesses to manage their business rates.

Rishi Sunak: Many micro businesses do not pay business rates, as they do not occupy rateable property or they benefit from Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR). SBRR was doubled to 100 per cent for businesses with rateable values under £12,000 from April 2017, meaning 600,000 small businesses now pay no business rates. Furthermore, all business, including micro businesses, will benefit from the Government’s decision to bring forward the switch of the annual indexation of business rates from RPI to CPI by two years to April 2018.

Help to Buy Scheme: Houseboats

Paul Girvan: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the help-to-buy to scheme to people purchasing house boats as their main residence.

Dominic Raab: Help to Buy Equity Loan has helped almost 159,000 households buy a new-build home since spring 2013, with 81 per cent of sales being to first-time buyers. This scheme is for new build homes and is not available for houseboats. There are no plans to extend the scheme to such dwellings.

Landlords: Convictions

Paul Girvan: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ban landlords with convictions for serious offences from renting out their property.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: On 6 April 2018 regulations made under the Housing and Planning Act 2016 came into force, introducing banning orders for landlords who have committed serious offences or who are prolific offenders.Local authorities can now apply to the First Tier Tribunal for a banning order against a landlord who has committed a specified banning order offence. Banning order offences include serious criminal offences and housing offences under the Housing Act 2004. If the Tribunal decides to issue an order, it will determine the length of the banning order which must be for a minimum period of 12 months with no upper limit.We have published guidance to assist local housing authorities to understand and use their new powers.

Temporary Accommodation

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made on the amount spent by each local authority on temporary accommodation in each of the last five years.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Department publishes data on local authority revenue expenditure and financing. Data is provided to the Department by local authorities, and this collection brings together all documents relating to local authority revenue expenditure and financing. The collection of data can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-financingBetween 2012/13 and 2016/17 the Revenue Outturn Housing Services (RO4) tables provide information on temporary accommodation income and expenditure for each local authority in England. Figures for each authority can be obtained using a tool built in to each RO4 table.

Temporary Accommodation

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the average length of stay for people placed in temporary accommodation in each local authority area in each of the last five years.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: Time spent in temporary accommodation means people are getting help and it ensures no family is without a roof over their head.MHCLG publishes regular statistics on rough sleeping, statutory homelessness, temporary accommodation and homelessness prevention and relief. These are published at national, London and local authority level . The latest statistics can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/homelessness-statisticsWe are overhauling the statutory homelessness data collection, as part of the implementation of the Homelessness Reduction Act, to give us better insights into the causes of homelessness and the support people need.

Help to Buy Scheme: Loans

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to sell the Help to Buy loan book to outside financial organisations; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to sell the Help to Buy loan book; and if he will make a statement.

Dominic Raab: Holding answer received on 21 May 2018



As part of the Balance Sheet Review announced at Autumn Budget 17, the Government is reviewing its approach to all of its assets and liabilities, including the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme.

Homelessness

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has received representations from local authorities on their capacity to implement the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Department’s Homelessness Advice and Support Team made up of experts from local government and the charitable sector, has worked closely with local authorities to help them prepare for and implement the Act and this engagement continues. We have committed to reviewing the implementation of the Act and the new burdens funding within two years of its commencement last month.

Housing: Public Expenditure

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much money from the public purse was spent on housing in (a) Coventry South constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) the UK in each year since 1998.

Dominic Raab: Holding answer received on 21 May 2018



(a-c) The Department does not hold financial outturn data categorised by region or constituency. HMT release their analysis of total public expenditure spend by region in the Country and Regional Analysis. This can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/657987/Country_and_Regional_Analysis_November_2017.pdf(d) The Department does not hold the information requested. Public expenditure on housing will include Housing Benefit, MHCLG expenditure and local authority costs. HMT publish their country and regional analysis which provides the estimate requested for England. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/country-and-regional-analysis#history

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the cost of replacing all cladding materials on high rise buildings with (a) cladding materials which are not of limited combustibility and (b) materials that are of limited combustibility.

Dominic Raab: Holding answer received on 21 May 2018



On 16 May, the Prime Minister announced that the Government would fully fund the removal and replacement of dangerous cladding on buildings owned by councils and housing associations estimated at £400 million.Local authorities are still in the process of identifying and verifying the status and remediation plans for private sector high rise residential buildings with potentially unsafe Aluminium Composite Material cladding.

Building Regulations

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, where liability lies for costs incurred as a result of changes to building regulations and applied retrospectively.

Dominic Raab: Holding answer received on 21 May 2018



Changes to building regulations are not applied retrospectively to existing buildings.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress has been made on testing cladding systems other than ACM cladding on high rise buildings.

Dominic Raab: Holding answer received on 21 May 2018



On 11 December 2017, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published a note advising building owners who are concerned about the fire safety of external wall systems that do not incorporate Aluminium Composite Material (ACM). The note covers how to seek advice, assess and mitigate potential risks associated with such systems.In addition, the Building Research Establishment (BRE) has published a list of external wall systems that have passed a large-scale BS8414 fire test.The Government has also commissioned research to improve understanding of the fire performance of external wall systems. We will expect this to be published in Summer 2018.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the safety of ZCM cladding systems on high rise buildings.

Dominic Raab: Holding answer received on 21 May 2018



On the advice of the independent expert advisory panel, the Department issued on 11 December 2017 advice for building owners about external wall systems that do not incorporate aluminium composite material (ACM) panels, such as zinc composite material (ZCM) panels: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/666190/111217_Advice_note_-_Non-ACM_advice.pdf. The Department has also commissioned further research on the fire performance of external wall systems.

Buildings: Fire Prevention

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what powers he has to compel the owners of non-publicly owned buildings to have the cladding systems on those properties tested.

Dominic Raab: Holding answer received on 21 May 2018



Local housing authorities have obligations to ensure that housing in their areas is of an acceptable standard.We have written to all local authority chief executives and asked local authorities to identify private sector high rise residential buildings over 18 metres tall in their area and to ensure appropriate building safety checking and remedial action is being undertaken, and to collate information on this so we can be reassured that all residents are safe.Ultimately, local authorities can take enforcement action against owners of buildings in their area that are not acting responsibly in respect of hazards, and we want them to use these powers to ensure residents are safe.Councils and housing associations must remove dangerous cladding quickly, but paying for these works must not undermine their ability to do important maintenance and repair work, or build new affordable homes.The announcement last week confirmed that Government will fully fund the removal and replacement of dangerous Aluminium Composite Material cladding on buildings owned by councils and housing associations, with costs estimated at £400 million.

Supported Housing: Finance

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will publish the submissions made to the joint Department for Communities and Local Government and Department for Work and Pensions funding for supported housing consultation which closed on 13 February 2017.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: We published a summary of the responses to the ‘Funding for supported housing’ consultation on 31 October 2017. Alongside this, we published a list of respondents, which can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/funding-for-supported-housing

Supported Housing: Finance

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions his Department has had with representatives of local authorities on the directing funding for supported housing by local government.

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what representations she he has received from local authorities on her Department’s proposed model of funding for supported housing.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: We received numerous responses from local authorities and others to our earlier consultations (which closed 23 January 2018) and we are currently considering the views shared. My officials have also been working closely with a number of local authorities to help us develop the detail of our new approach, and will continue to do so.

Buildings: Fire Prevention

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's press release, Government announces it will fully fund unsafe cladding removal in social housing, published on 16 May 2018, what assessment he has made of the effect on residents in mixed-use developments who are (a) leaseholders or (b) are in shared ownership.

Dominic Raab: The Government will fully fund the removal and replacement of dangerous Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding on buildings owned by councils and housing associations, with costs estimated at £400 million. Some of these buildings will contain leaseholders and shared ownership properties. In the social sector, all of those local authorities and housing associations with whom we are in discussion with have indicated that they are choosing not to pass on the costs of the remediation of cladding systems to individual flat owners within their buildings. The Secretary of State made it clear that he considers this is the right approach.In the private sector, building owners are responsible for making buildings safe. We have been clear we think they or the developers of the buildings should pay and not pass costs on to leaseholders, either funding the work themselves or looking at alternative routes such as insurance claims, warranties or action to ensure those responsible for erecting unsafe cladding pay. Leaseholders can challenge the costs in courts if they are unreasonable.

Victim Support Schemes: West Midlands

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what financial support the Government allocated to specialist services for BAME women who are victims of domestic violence in the West Midlands in each year since 2010.

Jake Berry: We do not hold centrally an annual breakdown of spending for victims of domestic violence in the West Midlands since 2010, however, the Government is providing financial support to specialist services for BAME women who are victims of domestic violence in a number of ways through our Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy. This includes Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) funding to local authorities for domestic abuse services and the VAWG Service Transformation FundSince 2014 MHCLG have invested over £33 million in services to support victims of domestic abuse, including support for BAME victims. The MHCLG Priorities for Domestic Abuse Services, which set out what steps local areas should take in their response to domestic abuse, includes the need to consider provision for BAME victims. These priorities encourage the securing of specialist services and using their expertise and knowledge to identify and deal with barriers to service access and deliver the support that BAME victims need when they need it.In addition, the VAWG Service Transformation Fund launched in 2017 has provided £17 million to 41 projects and meets the needs of those women and girls experiencing multiple disadvantage (BAME, LGB&T women and girls and disabled and older women). In the West Midlands, we provided £250,000 to Staffordshire PCC for a FGM project to ensure victims and potential victims have timely access to counselling and therapeutic support.In 2017, the Government funded the charity Imkaan to build capacity in the BME women’s sector.Significant further funding for domestic abuse services, including refuges will be available as early as possible in this financial year. This new fund will be open to all local areas across England to bid for a share.

Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces: Recruitment

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to recruit new soldiers into the armed forces.

Mark Lancaster: The Army recruits through a diverse and wide range of methods and is taking steps to improve its recruitment processes. Applications to the Army are received through the Army website.In January 2018 we launched the second phase of the 'This is Belonging' marketing campaign. This is a continuation of last year's successful campaign and focuses on reaching out to a broader community of young talent, in addition to those traditionally attracted to an Army career. It is active on television, radio, cinema and a variety of social media outlets. In addition, the Army advertises for specialist staff through online job advertising boards.The Army continues to work closely with their recruiting partner, Capita, on an improvement plan which aims to increase the conversion rate of applicants into recruits and shorten the time it takes to join the Army. To support recruitment operations, we also launched the new Defence Recruiting System in November 2017, to replace the former 20 year old IT system. While there have been some transition issues with the new system it will enable a quicker and easier recruitment process for applicants and the Armed Forces.This is all supported by extensive Army regional engagement to promote awareness across society of the role of the Army and the career opportunities that it presents. The Army is Britain's biggest provider of apprenticeships, offering not just a job, but a career with ongoing training and qualifications.The Army also seek to attract recruits from across the UK, and continues to work hard at recruiting a diverse work force. It has made addressing issues of equality, diversity and inclusivity a priority in order to ensure that it is a modern employer which is capable of recruiting talent from all elements of society. The lifting of the exclusion for women serving in Ground Close Combat roles highlights the commitment to offering maximum opportunity for all.

Territorial Army: Deployment

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many officers from the Territorial Army were deployed on a tour of duty in 2017.

Mark Lancaster: The number of Army Reserve Officers that deployed on operations between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2017 was 70.

Ministry of Defence: Paternity Leave

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many male staff of his Department have taken shared parental leave; and what the average length of that leave was.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Shared parental leave gives parents a real opportunity to enjoy the early months of childhood. It is a legal right and enables parents to swap some of their maternity or adoption leave and to take the rest more flexibly and as a couple. The Civil Service goes beyond the statutory minimum provision and offers an occupational rate of pay for some of this leave. The number of male employees in the Ministry of Defence who have taken shared parental leave since its introduction, along with the average length of leave taken, is set out below:No. of Male Employees taken shared parental leave from April 2015-2018Average length of Leave (calendar days)Military Personnel37981Civilian Personnel7676

Armed Forces: Allowances

Gavin Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will published the allowances available for military personnel travel between the barracks and home during leave; and if he will made an assessment of the adequacy of those allowances to cover the costs of travel to all parts of the UK.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The policy for Armed Forces expenses and allowances is published on the gov.uk website at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tri-service-regulations-for-expenses-and-allowances-jsp-752.For the purposes of leave, the Ministry of Defence provides travel assistance to newly recruited personnel through the Get You Home (Early Years) scheme. The scheme enables newly recruited members of the Services in the UK to maintain links with their close family/friends and home area while they adjust to Service life. The scheme covers the full cost of the return journey.Other personnel do not receive specific assistance for leave travel. However, those with a qualifying residence more than 50 miles away from their duty station are provided with a contribution towards returning to their qualifying address through the Get You Home (Travel) scheme.

Department for Work and Pensions

Self-employed

Paul Girvan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people that declared themselves as self-employed were found to be have employee status in 2017.

Kit Malthouse: We have interpreted this question to relate to child maintenance customers. The Department does not routinely collate information on the number of people that declared themselves self-employed to the Child Maintenance Service that subsequently were found to be have employee status. Obtaining the information to answer this question could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.

Jobseeker's Allowance: Wales

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people aged between 16 and 24 in Wales have been in receipt of Job Seeker’s Allowance in each of the last five years; and if she will provide that same data by region.

Alok Sharma: The Department already publishes this data on the Nomis website and it can be accessed on the Jobseeker’s Allowance age and duration page at: www.nomisweb.co.uk/query/construct/summary.asp?mode=construct&version=0&dataset=4

Universal Credit

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of recent trends in the average levels of household debt of people in receipt of universal credit.

Alok Sharma: The Government has taken a number of steps to reduce the risk of problem debt, including capping payday lending costs and promoting savings. Within Universal Credit, we have interest free advances and a system of priority deductions to help claimants who have got into arrears. This year we have also successfully implemented a further package of measures announced at the Autumn Budget 2017, such as making interest free advances of up to 100% of the indicative award available and increasing the repayment period to 12 months, removing the 7 waiting days from all claims, providing an additional payment of 2 weeks of Housing Benefit to support claimants when they transition to Universal Credit, and changing how claimants in temporary accommodation receive support for their housing costs. Additionally, budgeting advice is offered to all Universal Credit claimants when they make a new claim, and is discussed throughout the customer journey where needed. Where problem debt is identified, claimants may be referred to appropriate external organisations for additional support.

Poverty

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of recent trends in the number of in-work households living in poverty.

Kit Malthouse: It is clear that work is the best route out of poverty, as the rate of poverty in working households is one third of that among workless households. The latest data for 2016/17 shows there were 2.4 million working households in absolute low income before housing costs. Since 2010 the number of people in absolute poverty has fallen by 1 million, including 500,000 working age adults.

Jobcentres: Scotland

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect of the proposed closures of jobcentres on local communities in Scotland.

Alok Sharma: The 20-year contract covering the majority of DWP offices came to an end on 31 March 2018. Our announcement on 5 July 2017 confirmed that some smaller jobcentres would merge with larger ones, and others would be co-located with local government premises. As part of this, we confirmed that there would be a net reduction of 10 jobcentre offices, from 94 to 84, across Scotland. All mergers have now taken place, with the exception of Alexandria Jobcentre, which is merging with Dumbarton by the end of August 2018. Throughout the estate review, DWP has been mindful of its duties under the Equality Act 2010 and has carried out local level equality analysis to inform understanding of the effect of our plans and careful consideration has been given to the wider effect on local communities. The equality analysis findings were one of a number of considerations used to make decisions about our jobcentres. These included a complex range of factors, such as the effect on our people, customer service, the equality analysis, value for money and business needs. This is not about reducing jobs or services. It is about reducing the amount that we spend on rent that goes towards empty space and reinvesting those savings in supporting claimants.

Department for Work and Pensions: Industrial Health and Safety

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employees of her Department have applied for redeployment after medical evidence was produced that use of display screen equipment and on-line computer work was damaging their health since 2012; and how many of those employees were (a) given alternative work in her Department, (b) made redundant on medical grounds and (c) were not given alternative work but are still employed in her Department.

Kit Malthouse: The Department for Work and Pensions has well-established Display Screen Equipment (DSE) procedure in place for mitigating concerns that can arise from the use of DSE. Due to the numerous requests and personal manner in which reasonable adjustments can be applied by line management we do not record how many staff have been affected in the manner that you are requesting.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will write to women affected by changes to the state pension age to alert them to the effects of those changes.

Guy Opperman: Since the 1995 Pensions Act, successive Governments have gone to significant lengths to communicate State Pension age changes, including campaigns and writing directly to those affected. This also included issuing around 16 million automatic pension forecasts between 2003-2006, accompanied by a leaflet on State Pension age, which included information on how it was increasing for women; We wrote to those people affected by State Pension age equalisation and the increase in State Pension age from 65 to 66 as follows: - Between April 2009 and March 2011 we sent letters to 1.2 million women affected by the changes introduced in the Pensions Act 1995, (those born between 6 April 1950 and 5 April 1953) informing them of the change to their State Pension age.- We wrote to those men and women affected by the Pensions Act 2011 (those born between 6 April 1953 and 5 April 1960) informing them of the change to their State Pension age between January 2012 and November 2013. This involved mailing more than 5 million letters with accompanying leaflet to those affected. In addition, we have just completed writing to people who are affected by the rise in State Pension age from 66 to 67 between 2026 and 2028. This involved sending letters to around 1 million people between December 2016 and May 2018. We will continue to build on our communication strategies, making the most of digital technologies, to ensure we have a clear plan for communicating future changes to State Pension age and to assist with wider financial and later life employment planning.

Vacancies: Internet

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether use of the new Find a Job website will be compulsory for claimants of (a) jobseekers allowance and (b) universal credit.

Alok Sharma: Use of the Find a job website is not compulsory for claimants of Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) or Universal Credit (UC). JSA and UC claimants are asked to create an account and upload a Curriculum Vitae (CV) on Find a job or another jobsite when they make a new claim. If a claimant creates an account using a jobsite other than Find a job, it must be one that is deemed to be suitable by the Work Coach.

Vacancies: Internet

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what provision his Department has made available for claimants to share their feedback on the new Find a Job website.

Kit Malthouse: Customers can give feedback in a number of ways. Work coaches will able to give any suggestions to the service team responsible for the Find a Job website. Feedback can also be givenon the GOV.UK Find a job page which is reviewed each day,via a “Contact Us” message on the Find a job site,and also through messages on Twitter with any comments or feedback. The Find a job Twitter account (@UJhelp) also has help and support for customers who want to provide feedback.

Vacancies: Internet

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Find a Job website will clearly display whether an advertised position is full time, part time, flexible hours or a zero-hours contract.

Kit Malthouse: At present on Find a job customers can search for full or part time work. If an employer has included details of flexible working in their job description, they will be able to easily search for these keywords. The way flexible hours and working arrangements are best represented on the site will be developed soon after go live.

Food Banks

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress her Department has made on rolling out a  programme of placing an officer of her Department into local food banks to assist with benefits (a) access and (b) problems as first piloted in Morecambe.

Kit Malthouse: Working with Trussell Trust we undertook a 12 week telephony hotline trial during the summer 2017, in three Districts (Durham and Tees Valley, Northumberland and Cambridgeshire), to assess the volume and nature of enquiries made by claimants from their linked food banks. The small number of calls made to the hotline seemed to indicate that demand for Jobcentre resource in food banks was low. However, it was agreed that we would remind colleagues of the signposting process, and District Partnership teams would continue to engage with food banks as part of their portfolio of local partners and stakeholders. Jobcentres continue to engage with food banks or organisations hosting food banks as part of their normal partnership work. To ensure a consistent offer, an assurance was received in February 2018 that each Jobcentre Single Point of Contact had made contact with their linked food banks to increase and maintain partnership working.

Department for Work and Pensions: Paternity Leave

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many male staff of her Department have taken shared parental leave; and what the average length of that leave was.

Kit Malthouse: The Department for Work and Pensions is committed to supporting parents, particularly parents who juggle work and home responsibilities, and have a range of policies in place to support them. This includes encouraging Shared Parental Leave by providing contractual Shared Parental Pay, which exceeds statutory arrangements and reflects best employment practice. Since its introduction in April 2015, 78 male employees have taken shared parental leave. The average length of leave recorded on the Department’s HR system is 97 calendar days.

State Retirement Pensions

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether it is still a principle of the Government that an individual should spend on average up to one third of their adult life above state pension age.

Guy Opperman: The Pensions Act 2014 requires the Government to regularly review State Pension age and report the outcome of that review to Parliament. This process helps to ensure the costs of increasing longevity are shared fairly between the generations and also provides greater clarity for people around how State Pension age will change in the future. The Government announced in 2013 that people can expect to spend on average up to one third of their adult life in receipt of the State Pension to reflect the experience of recent generations. The first review of State Pension age by John Cridland was published in 2017 and proposed increasing State Pension age to age 68 between 2037 and 2039, bringing it forward from its current legislated date of 2044-46. This is consistent with the up to one third principle and means everyone born on or before 5 April 1970 will see no change to their State Pension age. We will carry out a further review before legislating to bring forward the rise in State Pension age to 68, to enable consideration of the latest life expectancy projections and to allow us to evaluate the increase in State Pension age from 65 to 66.

Social Security Benefits: Cancer

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of whether the benefits system is providing adequate financial support for young cancer patients and their families.

Sarah Newton: Children and young people with serious or critical illnesses such as cancer are able to apply for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) if they are aged under 16 (or Personal Independence Payment (PIP) if aged 16 and above). DLA and PIP are both tax free allowances designed to contribute to the extra costs incurred as a result of long-term health conditions and/or disabilities. Children and young people in receipt of DLA or PIP can receive up to £145.35 a week. Entitlement to DLA and PIP depends on the effects that severe disability has on a person’s life and not on a particular disability or diagnosis. This is because people living with the same illnesses or disabilities may not necessarily have the same care or mobility needs. Special considerations are made for children and adults who are terminally ill. Our arrangements recognise the particular difficulties faced by people who have only a short time to live. Claims are ‘fast-tracked’ and given immediate priority in the system and will be actioned as soon as they are received which is usually on the same day. The highest rate of the care component of DLA and enhanced rate of daily living component of PIP are awarded without a qualifying period. Legislation defines a person as terminally ill if ‘he suffers from a progressive disease and his death can reasonably be expected within six months’.People over the age of 16 who are unable to work due to an illness or disability can claim Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) which has both a contributory strand accessible via a National Insurance contribution test and an income-related strand accessible via an income test. For cancer sufferers, a light touch evidence gathering process exists, to help determine eligibility. There is also a presumption that claimants receiving or recovering from cancer treatment will be placed in the Support Group which could entitle them to up to £110.75 per week, subject to suitable evidence from a healthcare professional such as a GP or oncologist. Carers may also be able to qualify for Carer’s Allowance, which is currently £64.60 a week if they meet the eligibility criteria.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will make an assessment of the effect of changes to the state pension age on women born in the 1950s in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside and (c) the North East.

Guy Opperman: Successive governments did not do a constituency or regional specific assessment of the effect of changes to the State Pension age for men or women born in any individual constituency. Therefore, this process is not proposed for the Jarrow constituency, South Tyneside or the North East.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Incinerators

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason annual reports regarding emissions of particulate matter from energy from waste sites at (a) Twinwoods Heat and Power Bedfordshire, (b) Thetford Power Station, (c) Stallingborough, (d) Hartlepool Power Station, (e) Immingham Dock, (f) Oldbury, (g) Exeter Energy From Waste, (h) Slough heat and Power and (i) Calder Valley Incineration were not included in the 2016 Pollution Inventory.

George Eustice: Total particulate matter is continuously monitored at all operational waste incinerators.The reason emissions of particulate matter from some waste sites were omitted from the pollution inventory is that their emissions were below reporting thresholds in 2016. This includes Thetford Power Station, Stallinborough, Oldbury, Slough Heat and Power, and Exeter Energy From Waste.Annual reports regarding emissions of particulate matter from Twinwoods Heat and Power Bedfordshire were not included in the 2016 pollution inventory because no report was submitted by the operator. The Environment Agency is currently reviewing why no report was submitted by the operator in 2016 and will ensure that all emissions data is proided as required under the relevant legislation.No emissions were reported from the Immingham Dock and Calder Valley incinerators because they were non-operational in 2016. Hartlepool Power Station is a nuclear power station and not an energy from waste site.

Agriculture: Apprentices

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of apprenticeship starts across the food, farming and agri-tech sector in each year since 2015.

George Eustice: Data on apprenticeship starts is published on Gov.uk and can be found in the Further Education (FE) data library.https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fe-data-library The FE library contains searchable tools that allow apprenticeship starts to be analysed using both the old apprenticeship frameworks, which will be replaced by 2020, and the new apprenticeship standards. Data can be further broken down by factors such as age group and level. Data specifically covering frameworks/standards can be found at the links below: 2014/15 and 2015/16 academic years:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/643191/Apprenticeships-framework-SSA-data-tool.xlsx 2016/17 academic year:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/661049/201617_apprenticeships_by_framework_and_sector_subject_area.xlsx 2017/18 academic year (August 2017 to January 2018) reported to date:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/694143/Q2_201718_apprenticeships_by_SSA_framework.xlsx

Chemicals: Regulation

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to ensure that the framework for the regulation of chemicals provided by the EU Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation & Restriction of Chemicals regulation will be replicated in the UK after it leaves the EU.

George Eustice: The Government’s priority is to maintain an effective regulatory system for managing and controlling chemicals to safeguard human health and the environment, responding to emerging risks and allowing trade with the EU that is as smooth as possible. The Withdrawal Bill will convert current EU law into domestic law wherever practical, giving consumers and businesses as much certainty as possible. This includes laws relating to chemicals. REACH will continue to apply while the UK remains in the EU, and during the implementation period. As the Prime Minister set out in her Mansion House speech, we will want to explore with the EU the terms on which we could remain part of EU agencies, such as the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). While it would not be appropriate to pre-judge the outcome of the negotiations we are discussing with the EU and Member States how best to continue cooperation in chemicals regulation in the best interests of both the UK and the EU.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Procurement

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department’s procurement policy takes account of the use of secondary materials in the purchasing of new products; and if he will he make a statement.

George Eustice: Defra Group Commercial is in the process of rewriting its Procurement Policy to reflect changes to policy and best practice. The Procurement Policy document will include the use of secondary materials in the purchasing and supply of new products for future procurements. Once completed this document will be accessible on the internet.

Waste Management: EU Action

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his policy is on adopting the future EU circular economy package; and if he will make a statement.

George Eustice: We expect the final Circular Economy Package to be adopted on 22 May. The Government has confirmed that the UK will vote in favour of the final package and is currently developing its approach to transposing the package, which we shall set out in the Resources and Waste Strategy later this year.

Housing: Construction

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has discussed with Cabinet colleagues the waste and energy requirements for new housing developments; and if he will make a statement.

George Eustice: The Government does not comment on Cabinet discussions. The Secretary of State along with several other Cabinet Ministers attended the inaugural meeting of the cross-Government Housing Implementation Taskforce chaired by the Prime Minister.

Animal Welfare

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with animal welfare organisations since the closure of the consultation on the Draft Animal Welfare Bill.

George Eustice: I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given to the Honourable Member for Redcar, on 10 May 2018 to PQ UIN 141354.

Unilever: Norwich

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on what dates and with whom he has had discussions on a rural development programme for Unilever's manufacturing operations in Norwich and its associated supply chain.

George Eustice: I have received numerous representation from the Hon. Member for Norfolk North regarding the future of manufacturing operations on the Unilever site in Norwich. On 3 May I met the Chief Executive of New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership to discuss this issue. The Department has also been made aware of a potential application under the Rural Development Programme’s Growth Programme for funding to help set up a manufacturing and milling facility in Greater Norwich. However, an application has not so far been received.

Environment Protection

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the (a) start up and (b) running costs of the proposed independent environmental watchdog to be established after the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice: On 10 May, the Government launched a consultation on proposals to establish an independent environmental body through the Environmental Principles and Governance Bill. Our intention is that this new body would hold the Government to account on our environmental standards when we have left the EU. The public consultation runs for 12 weeks until 2 August. The costs of establishing and running the new body are dependent on its functions, which are the subject of the ongoing consultation.

Home Office

Prisoners: Caribbean

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Caribbean-born foreign nationals aged (a) 46 or above, (b) 50 or above, (c) 60 or above and (d) 70 or above have served or are currently serving custodial sentences; how many of those sentences relate to (i) illegal working, (ii) working without papers proving their right to work, and (iii) false papers or fraudulent papers; how many of those people have been or are currently being held in immigration removal centres prior to removal; and how many have been deported to Caribbean countries in each year since 2013.

Caroline Nokes: The MoJ routinely publish data of the nationalities of time serving individuals:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/702300/population-31-march-2018.odsThe Home Office routinely publish data which gives a breakdown by nationality of detained foreign nationals: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-october-to-december-2017-data-tablesThe Home Office routinely publishes migration statistics data which gives a breakdown by nationality of all removals: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/683361/returns2-oct-dec-2017-tables.odsProviding the remainder of the information requested would require a manual check of individual records which could only be done at disproportionate cost.

Home Office: Written Questions

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he plans to respond to Question 141675 on Prisoners: Caribbean asked by the hon. Member for Tottenham on 8 May 2018.

Caroline Nokes: The response for UIN 141675 was provided on 22nd May 2018.

Deportation

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 14 May 2018 to Question 142442 on Deportation, what information his Department holds on the (a) number of deportation orders that have been in force for more than five years and (b) average length of time taken before a deportation order is executed.

Caroline Nokes: Providing the information requested would require a manual check of individual records which could only be done at disproportionate cost.The Home Office does however routinely publish quarterly statistics on the average length of time taken for a foreign national offender to be deported from the UK. This information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-enforcement-data-february-2018

Members: Correspondence

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he plans to respond to the letter of 4 April 2018 from the hon. Member for Sefton Central on Hillsborough Law.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Minister of State for Policing and the Fire Service will reply week commencing 21 May 2018.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the commissioning letter to the Migration Advisory Committee of 27 July 2017, whether it remains the Government's policy to wait for that Committee's advice before determining the future long-term immigration rules for EU citizens.

Caroline Nokes: The Government is considering a range of options for the future immigration system and will set out initial plans in due course. We will build a comprehensive picture of the needs and interests of all parts of the UK and look to develop a system which works for all.We will ensure that decisions on the long-term arrangements are based on evidence. The commission that we asked the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to undertake is very much part of this. The MAC is due to report back by September 2018.

Hamas: Proscribed Organisations

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make it his policy to add the political wing of Hamas to the list of proscribed organisations.

Mr Ben Wallace: Hamas Izz al-Din al-Qassem Brigades (Hamas IDQ), the military wing of Hamas, was proscribed in March 2001. A decision to proscribe an organisation must be based on a belief that it is concerned in terrorism as defined in the Terrorism Act 2000. We do not routinely comment on whether an organisation is or is not under consideration for proscription.

Migrant Workers: Scientists

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department is making special immigration provisions to enable the recruitment and movement of skilled non-UK European scientists working in (a) academia and (b) industry after the UK leaves the EU.

Caroline Nokes: The Government is considering a range of options for the future immigration system and will set out initial plans in due course. We will build a comprehensive picture of the needs and interests of all parts of the UK and look to develop a system which works for all.We will ensure that decisions on the long-term arrangements are based on evidence. The commission that we asked the MAC to undertake is very much part of this. The MAC is due to report back by September 2018.

Scotland Office

Public Expenditure: Scotland

Paul Girvan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much match-funding allocated by the Government the Scottish government has not received as a result of that government not meeting its 5 core economic targets.

David Mundell: As a result of the UK Government’s decisions at the Autumn Budget, the Scottish Government’s budgets will increase by £2 billion, providing it with the opportunity to allocate additional funding to public services and growth in Scotland. This builds on the £350 million increase to the Scottish Government’s budget at Spring Budget 2017. Overall, the Scottish Government’s block grant (before adjustment for tax devolution) will have grown to over £31.1 billion by 2020, a real terms increase over the current Spending Review period. In addition, the Scottish Government has now substantial tax-raising powers to vary the levels of tax and spending in Scotland. Once the Scotland Act 2016 is fully implemented, more than 50% of the Scottish Government’s funding will come from revenues raised in Scotland, making the Scottish Government more accountable to the people it serves.

Scotland Office: Paternity Leave

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many male staff of his Department have taken shared parental leave; and what the average length of that leave was.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not employ staff directly. Staff that join do so on an assignment, loan or secondment from other government bodies, principally the Ministry of Justice and the Scottish Government, who remain the employers. Details of shared parental leave taken by male staff is not held by the Scotland Office; this information is held by the parent employers.

Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office: EU Law

Philip Davies: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which regulations his Department (a) has introduced as a result of EU legislation from 23 June 2016 to date and (b) expects to implement as a result of EU legislation in (i) 2018 and (ii) 2019; and what estimate he has made of the cost of each such regulation to the (A) public purse and (B) private sector.

Chloe Smith: My department have introduced no regulations as a result of EU Legislation since 23 June 2016. In 2018, we expect to introduce 6 regulations. In 2019, we expect to introduce 3 regulations. However, the exact number is subject to ongoing negotiations. All regulations relating to EU legislation that have been introduced since 2013 and impact assessments, where available, can be found on www.legislation.gov.uk

Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Public Appointments

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that appointments to the Grenfell Tower inquiry panel have the confidence of survivors and bereaved families.

Mr David Lidington: I refer the Honourable Member to the 11 May letter that the Prime Minister wrote to the Inquiry Chair, Sir Martin Moore-Bick, confirming her decision to appoint additional panel members gov.uk https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/grenfell-tower-inquiry-update The Prime Minister will make the appointments in accordance with sections 4,7(1)(b) and 7(2)(b) of the Inquiries Act 2005

Ministry of Defence: Cyber Innovation Fund

Gerald Jones: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much and to which companies his Department has allocated funding from the Cyber Innovation Fund.

Mr David Lidington: The Cyber Innovation Fund is now part of the broader National Security Strategic Investment Fund to find innovative solutions to national security problems from early stage companies. Funding decisions to support cyber security companies have yet to be taken.

Electoral Register

Jim McMahon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many electors were registered for each year since 2010.

Chloe Smith: Official registration statistics are published each year by the Office for National Statistics and are accessible online: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/elections/electoralregistration

Local Government: Elections

Conor McGinn: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the news release entitled Thousands of voters turned away from polling stations in mandatory ID trials, published by the Electoral Reform Society on 4 May 2018, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of the estimate by the Electoral Reform Society that 3,981 people were turned away from polling stations across the five pilot areas; and if he will make an estimate of what that figure would be in the event that the scheme was rolled out nationally.

Chloe Smith: The Cabinet Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Local Government: Elections

Cat Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much it cost to deliver the local government voter ID pilots in each of the five local authority areas where the scheme was introduced.

Cat Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much it cost to deliver the local government election postal voting pilots in each local authority area where the scheme was introduced.

Chloe Smith: The British public deserves to have confidence in our democracy and the Government is committed to making sure that our electoral system is fit for the future. Voter ID was successfully tested at the local elections on 3 May by five local authorities: Bromley, Gosport, Swindon, Watford and Woking. Proxy voters in Peterborough were also required to show ID before they could vote. The overwhelming majority of people cast their vote without a problem. In addition, Tower Hamlets, Slough and Peterborough piloted measures to improve the security of the postal vote process. The additional costs of the voter ID and postal vote pilots have yet to be collated. As set out ahead of the pilots funding for the net additional costs of piloting will be provided by the Cabinet Office. The Electoral Commission is responsible for carrying out an independent, statutory evaluation of the pilot schemes and will publish its findings in the summer of 2018.

Local Government: Elections

Cat Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many additional polling station staff in each local authority area were required to deliver the local government election voter ID pilots; and what the average number was of additional staff at a single polling station who were required to carry out identity checks as a result of the pilot scheme.

Chloe Smith: Voter ID is an important step to ensuring the public can have greater confidence in our democratic system. Voter ID was successfully tested at the local elections on 3 May by five local authorities: Bromley, Gosport, Swindon, Watford and Woking. Proxy voters in Peterborough were also required to show ID before they could vote. The overwhelming majority of people cast their vote without a problem and local authorities’ data shows that this is a reasonable and proportionate measure to take. Each pilot authority decided its own staff requirements and it would be for pilot authorities to confirm the details of any additional staff they may have required. The Cabinet Office will meet the additional cost of the voter ID pilots. The impact of voter ID will be the subject of the Electoral Commission’s independent, statutory evaluation of the pilot schemes and it will publish its findings in the summer of 2018.

Treasury

Minimum Wage: Arrears

Caroline Lucas: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the HM Revenue and Customs press release of 9 May 2018, 200,000 receive back pay as HMRC enforces National Minimum Wage, how much of the £15.6 million of minimum wage arrears identified in 2017-18 was identified through self-correction by employers; and how many of those 200,000 people those arrears self-corrected by employers relate to.

Mel Stride: The government is determined that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum and Living Wage (NMW) receives it. Anyone who feels they have been underpaid NMW should contact the Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100 or use the online pay and work rights complaints form on gov.uk. HMRC review all complaints that are referred to them. In 2017/18 HMRC identified over £15.6 million arrears for over 200,000 workers. This included around £5.9 million self-correction arrears affecting around than 72,000 workers. HMRC always takes action to ensure workers receive what they are entitled to, and has robust assurance processes in place to make sure that all employers fully repay their workers. If HMRC believes that the employer has not self-corrected completely, or becomes aware of another NMW risk, the employer will be investigated again

Child Benefit: Repayments

Stephen Kinnock: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many households in (a) UK, (b) Wales, and (c) Aberavon constituency are subject to the high income child benefit tax charge.

Stephen Kinnock: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the high income child benefit tax charge.

Stephen Kinnock: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much revenue has accrued to the public purse under the child benefit tax charge.

Elizabeth Truss: The High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) was introduced in 2013 to help reduce the fiscal deficit and to ensure that support is targeted at those who need it most. HICBC applies to someone with an income over £50,000 who claims Child Benefit, or whose partner claims it. The tax charge increases gradually for taxpayers with incomes between £50,000 and £60,000.

Children: Day Care

Conor McGinn: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which company is contracted to resolve technical issues with the tax free childcare online application system; what targets are set in that contract; and how much money that is paid to that company under that contract.

Elizabeth Truss: The vast majority of parents can use the childcare service (through which they apply for Tax-Free Childcare and 30 hours free childcare) without any problems. HMRC has been working with their delivery partner National Savings & Investments (NS&I) and NS&I’s supplier Atos to make improvements to the service. As a result over 99% of parents are now receiving their eligibility decision within 5 working days.It is not the Government’s usual practice to comment on contractual matters between departments and their contactors since they may be commercially sensitive.

Credit

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of consumer credit since 2010.

John Glen: According to the Bank of England’s Money and Credit data, the outstanding level of consumer credit, in nominal terms, was £183.9bn in March 2010, compared to £209.4bn in March 2018. The government established the independent Financial Policy Committee (FPC), giving the FPC a primary objective to identify, monitor and take action to remove or reduce systemic risks with a view to protecting and enhancing financial stability. Following the Bank of England’s 2017 stress test, the FPC said that regulatory capital buffers for individual firms should now be set so that each bank can absorb losses on consumer lending, alongside all the other effects of the stress test on its balance sheet. This will ensure lenders are resilient to any defaults related to consumer credit.

WHO Framework Convention On Tobacco Control

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to deposit the instruments of ratification for the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to deposit the instruments of ratification for the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products before the 2 July 2018 deadline to ensure that the UK can participate in the event that there is a first Meeting of the Parties this year.

Robert Jenrick: The government is fully committed to the Protocol and steps to achieve ratification have begun. Subject to parliamentary approval, the government intends to deposit the instruments of ratification by 2 July 2018. This will enable the UK to participate if there is a first Meeting of the Parties later this year.

Cost of Living

Nigel Mills: What progress the Government has made on supporting families with the cost of living.

Elizabeth Truss: People’s disposable income is now 4.6% higher in real terms than in 2010. That is because we have turned around the economy and held taxes down.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Comcast

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take into account whether Comcast’s bid for Sky includes commitments to maintain Sky’s employment levels in (a) Scotland and (b) throughout the UK.

Matt Hancock: I refer the hon member to my written statement to the House issued on 21st May.

Sports: Disability

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to encourage sports clubs to have disability teams.

Tracey Crouch: The importance of increasing participation in sport and physical activity by underrepresented groups was highlighted in the government’s sport strategy 'Sporting Future: A New Strategy for an Active Nation', published in December 2015. Sport England is investing £1.6m from 2017 - 2020 into the seven National Disability Sports Organisations (NDSOs) who represent specific impairment groups. Part of their work is to promote opportunities to their members, and to provide advice to clubs and coaches to enable more disabled people to participate in sport. Sport England also invests in International Mixed Ability Sports (IMAS), an inclusion model based on disabled and non-disabled people taking part in sport together, and embedding these teams into existing club structures. It has invested approximately £162,000 into IMAS to expand the delivery of their mixed ability model into seven new sports, and reach over 900 disabled and non-disabled players over the 2 years of this investment.Sport England also supports clubs to promote disability sport through its free Club Matters resource. It includes insight about different impairments and health conditions, and practical advice about making clubs accessible and inclusive for disabled people. The Activity Alliance (formerly known as EFDS) are currently working with Sport England to update the resources available to clubs through Club Matters.

Horse Racing: Violence

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the levels of crowd violence at horse racing meetings in 2018.

Tracey Crouch: Incidents of crowd violence are rare across the 60 British racecourses and 1500 fixtures that attract some six million racegoers per year. However, the Racecourse Association and its members are working to encourage responsible behaviour in respect of alcohol consumption, and are reviewing their processes for crowd control and security. Racecourses reserve the right to deny entry to or remove racegoers whose behaviour falls short of the standards of conduct required under the terms and conditions of entry. The British Horseracing Authority will consider factors such as crowd control and behaviour when reviewing its licensing procedures for racecourses.

Healthy Living Ministerial Group

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the inter-ministerial group on healthy living has held its first meeting.

Tracey Crouch: The Inter-Ministerial Group on Healthy Living considers how sport and physical activity could be made more widely accessible, so that they benefit everyone. Information relating to the proceedings of Inter-Ministerial Groups, including when they meet, is not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Parental Leave

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many male staff of his Department have taken shared paternal leave; and the average length of that leave was.

Margot James: The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) implemented the Shared Parental Leave Policy in April 2015. Since the policy was introduced, 12 males have taken Shared Parental Leave and the average length of leave was 3.5 months. Uptake of Shared Parental Leave has increased each year since the policy was launched. Shared Parental Leave can give parents more flexibility in how they share the care of their child in the first year following birth or adoption. Working closely with the Parent's Network, DCMS is actively promoting SPL including having all policy and guidance on the intranet available for all staff to view in order to encourage staff to consider using the flexibility.

Sports: Ombudsman

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of the establishment of an independent Sports Ombudsman to improve the welfare of elite athletes.

Tracey Crouch: I have been carefully considering the recommendation in Baroness Grey-Thompson’s Duty of Care in Sport review for the establishment of an independent sports ombudsman. As I stated during my appearance before the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee in November 2017, I would like to consider the Committee’s report of their inquiry into sports governance before making any decisions about whether or how to take this recommendation forward. It is important that elite sports’ systems for dealing with concerns about athlete welfare are as effective as possible, regardless of whether any new service - be that an ombudsman or a different model - is developed. UK Sport have been proactive on this issue and are working to strengthen the existing systems, structures and responsibilities for dispute resolution within the high performance system.

Sexting

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if the Government will bring forward legislative proposals to make it a criminal offence to send an explicit unsolicited picture via electronic means.

Margot James: It is already illegal to send communications which are grossly offensive, obscene, indecent or false under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 or section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988.

House of Commons Commission

House of Commons: Food

Layla Moran: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many kilogrammes of food the House of Commons has disposed of as waste in each of the last five years for which information is available.

Tom Brake: In the last five financial years, the amounts (kilogrammes) of food disposed of as waste from catering facilities were:2017/18: 282,133 kg2016/17: 228,441 kg2015/16: 130,384 kg2014/15: 209,667 kg2013/14: 140,017 kg

House of Commons: Food

Layla Moran: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission,  how many kilogrammes of food the House of Commons has disposed of as waste  in (a) April 2013, (b) April 2014, (c) April 2015, (d) April 2016 and (e) April 2017.

Tom Brake: In April of the last five years, the amounts (kilogrammes) of food disposed of as waste from catering facilities were:April 2017: 19,021 kgApril 2016: 12,910 kgApril 2015: 16,630 kgApril 2014: 19,350 kgApril 2013: 14,220 kg

Parliamentary Estate: Access

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, what estimate the Commission has made of the number of weekly non-passholders who are admitted to the Parliamentary estate without being accompanied or sponsored by a Member.

Tom Brake: In April 2018, the average weekly number of visitors entering the Parliamentary estate from the three main visitor entrances (Cromwell Green Entrance, Portcullis House and Black Rod’s Garden Entrance) was approximately 17,000. This period comprised both sitting and recess dates. These figures are taken from readings on the security archways that visitors pass through as part of the search and screening process.Visitors to Parliament access the estate for many reasons. It is not possible to provide an accurate estimate of the number of non-passholders who are admitted without being accompanied or sponsored by a Member.Visitors access the estate to meet with a Member or a member of staff; to attend a Member-sponsored meeting (including APPGs) or meetings at official level; to give evidence to a Committee; to lobby; to attend debates in both Houses (in the Chambers and Committees); to attend functions and banqueting events; to take a tour (both paid-for and democratic free tours); or as part of an Education Service visit.Some of the activities listed require sponsorship by a Member. Other visits will not be directly linked to a Member of either House; such as those attending House or committee proceedings, or attendees at organised functions.All non-passholders are subject to search and screening measures before entering the estate and must visibly display their visitor pass throughout their time on the estate.Controls are in place to allow visitors to access certain areas of the building without being escorted by a passholder, including Westminster Hall, St Stephen’s Hall, Central Lobby and certain refreshment facilities.

Parliamentary Estate: Access

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, whether the Commission has made an assessment of the adequacy of security in the Palace of Westminster as a result of the number of unaccompanied non-passholders accessing the Parliamentary estate in order to use refreshment facilities; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Brake: The House authorities, in conjunction with the police, assess all Parliamentary activity each week. This assessment is based on risk and considers all events, including banqueting, committees, meetings and other Parliamentary business. Security provision is based on risk and threat and comprises many different actions which we cannot disclose in full.Unaccompanied non-passholders accessing the Parliamentary estate in order to use refreshment facilities are restricted to a limited number of areas. These areas, and routes to and from the entrances and exits to the estate, are carefully controlled by security and other House staff to minimise the risk of non-passholders accessing other parts of the estate. We encourage all Members and staff to challenge any unaccompanied non-passholders who are found in a restricted area and to alert security staff to their presence.All non-passholders are subject to search and screening measures before entering the estate and may not bring onto the estate prohibited items. Further information about these measures can be found on the Parliamentary website: https://www.parliament.uk/visiting/access/security/.

Parliament: Discrimination

Chi Onwurah: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, what steps are being taken to tackle everyday sexism, biased language and unconscious bias in Parliament.

Tom Brake: The House of Commons Commission is committed to making Parliament a more inclusive place to work and visit. It has taken steps to implement those recommendations of the Good Parliament report within its remit: for example, it formally supported the establishment of the Commons Reference Group on Representation and Inclusion; and a review of the Parliamentary pass regime to address the fact that female Members and staff were disproportionately questioned about their identity and status, reinforcing assumptions about who belongs in Parliament. It has encouraged the House Service to introduce strategies which improve the diversity of its workforce, yielding positive results year-on-year.The Good Parliament report also noted that formalising the principles of inclusion and representation in official parliamentary proceedings should positively affect wider cultural change over time. In March 2015, the Procedure Committee published proposed revisions to the Standing Orders which included amendments for gender-neutral language. The proposed revisions have not yet been put before the House.The House agreed in February 2018 to introduce a Code of Behaviour for Parliament and a system of training to support it. The draft Code sets out expectations of how we treat each other, whatever our status, background or appearance, and is open for consultation until 30 May. The training that will accompany it is intended to support all passholders to understand these expectations and to speak up when they witness unacceptable behaviour.All House of Commons and Digital Service staff are required to undertake Equality and Diversity training which covers equality legislation, types of discrimination, unconscious bias and valuing others. In addition, the House Service provides a specific workshop on unconscious bias which is also open to Members’ staff; and arranges tailored sessions where required.

Northern Ireland Office

New IRA

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to the content of the contribution made by the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland on the threat posed by the IRA dissidents after the UK leaves the EU, broadcast on BBC Newsnight on 15 May 2018, what assessment her Department has made of the level and nature of the threat posed by those dissidents; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley: The Northern Ireland Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

New IRA

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General of 16 May 2018, Official Report, column 390 for 16 May 2018, if she will place redacted copies of the security briefings on the threat posed by IRA dissidents as a result of the UK leaving the EU which were provided to Ministers by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (a) in the Library and (b) with the Committee on Exiting the European Union; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley: The Northern Ireland Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Northern Ireland Government

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent estimate she has made of the likely timescale for talks to begin between the main political parties on the restoration of devolved government in Northern Ireland; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley: The Northern Ireland Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Women and Equalities

Consumers: Disability

Layla Moran: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Equality Act 2010 in improving accessibility to (a) shops and (b) websites for disabled consumers.

Victoria Atkins: In 2015, the Government carried out post legislative scrutiny of the 2010 Act to determine how the legislation has been operating since its introduction, including in relation to access to services for disabled people. This showed that the Act in general constitutes stronger protection against discrimination for all protected groups, including disabled people, and provides additional ways of tackling inequalities. We have recently announced that we intend to commence Section 36 of the Act as soon as possible to improve disabled people’s access to the common parts of shared dwellings (reception areas, stairwells etc.). Further work on identifying and assessing any additional burdens on local authorities is first required, after which an announcement on timing of the commencement will be made. We are also currently transposing the EU directive on public sector website accessibility, which will come into law by September 2018 before the UK leaves the EU. This builds upon the Equality Act of 2010 and formalises existing policy that public sector bodies should to take measures to ensure that their websites are accessible for persons with disabilities. Websites will need to assess the accessibility of their websites and apps and provide details of this in an accessibility statement.

Civil Partnerships

Tim Loughton: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to the command paper, Future operation of Civil Partnerships, Cm. 9606, published in May 2018, what additional information is being sought by her Department in its latest consultation on extending civil partnerships.

Victoria Atkins: The command paper, “The Future Operation of Civil Partnership: Gathering Further Information” (Cm. 9606), details four pieces of research that the Government are undertaking to assess the demand for civil partnership and help inform a decision about their future. These are to: (1) Assess trends in civil partnership and marriage formations amongst same-sex couples (2) Undertake surveys to assess demand for civil partnership and marriage amongst unmarried people in opposite-sex relationships in the UK (3) Undertake research into the motivations of same-sex couples who continue to choose civil partnership (4) Review the experience of other countries to understand the choices people actually make when faced with a choice between marriage and other forms of relationship.   The command paper also commits to a full public consultation following the completion of this research.  These activities will help us to put forward a specific recommendation about how civil partnership should change in the future. This differs from previous consultations, which asked people about a range of options including maintaining the status quo

Civil Partnerships

Tim Loughton: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to the command paper, Future operation of Civil Partnerships, Cm. 9606, published in May 2018, for what reasons the public consultation will not start before 2020; and if he will make a statement.

Victoria Atkins: The Government is committed to resolving the difference in treatment between same-sex and opposite-sex couples with respect to their ability to form a civil partnership. We want to do this as quickly as possible.The command paper, “The Future Operation of Civil Partnership: Gathering Further Information” (Cm. 9606), details four pieces of research that the Government are undertaking to assess the demand for civil partnership and help inform a decision about their future. We will use this research to understand the total impact of a change in the law, including the cost of either extending or closing civil partnership. Our intention is to complete this research prior to a full public consultation taking place, and to use it to inform the proposed way forward. We anticipate all research will be complete by September 2019, at which point we would prepare the consultation taking account of the evidence gathered.